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How to Proceed After a Workplace Injury

Do not attempt to keep your work injury a secret. This is not the right time to be tough and gut it out. Report your injury to your manager and human resources department. Fill out the required form or other paperwork to formally document your injury. If you fail to reveal your injury to your employer, they will likely deny your request for medical treatment and other workers’ compensation benefits. Do not wait to report the injury. Time is of the essence. If you drag your feet, your employer will attempt to deny your claim and the insurance provider will question why there was a delay. Some employers and insurance providers will argue the delay is due to the injury being suffered outside of work. Others will come up with additional arguments in an attempt to keep their insurance rates as low as possible.

When in doubt, report the incident at the first opportunity as some employer mandate a formal report be filed within 24 hours of the injury. Certain employers will even go as far as suspending employees for failing to report injuries in the designated time period. However, the state of New Jersey provides injured workers with up to 90 days to formally report the incident. Though employers can have shorter in-house deadlines, it still might be possible to obtain workers’ compensation benefits.

Speak up right away, document your injury and you will be eligible for New Jersey workers’ compensation benefits in the form of medical treatment paid for by your employer. You might also be eligible for temporary disability benefits. If your degree of permanent injury is significant, you might be provided with permanent indemnity payments for the rest of your life.

How to Report Your Injury

It does not matter how the injury occurred; a detailed account of the event must be written and filed with your employer. If anyone witnessed the incident, take down their name and a statement describing what happened. Though you might not require medical treatment immediately after the accident, do not let your employer know. Otherwise, they can argue you were pain-free after the incident and did not require immediate medical attention. Say as little as possible, file an injury report, meet with a doctor and let your workers compensation attorney handle the matter from there.

If you are a member of a union, report the injury to the union after notifying your employer. It does not matter if the injury occurred moments ago, weeks ago or days ago; follow the advice set forth above and you will greatly increase your chances of obtaining compensation.

Meet With an Authorized Physician

In the majority of situations, injured employees are limited to care provided by medical providers their employer assigns to commence the workers’ compensation process. This also means the employer should be on the hook for medical expenses. If the medical treatment is authorized, the employer should cover it.

As an example, visiting with the family doctor for a checkup does not qualify as authorized treatment related to the workplace injury. Nor can you visit with a specialist unless you have a referral from a physician with the proper authorization. In fact, you might be limited to physicians specifically selected by your employer. Even obtaining a second opinion can be difficult unless you have the green light from your employer. In certain situations, caregiver options will be required yet workers’ compensation benefits might not cover the cost. However, it might be possible to recover payment for these costs at a later point in time.

How to Handle a Claim Denial

Employers and insurance providers often argue the injury is not related to workplace activities. Some argue the employee was performing activities not covered by workers’ compensation. If this occurs, the employee must be notified of his or her claim denial. The next step is to file an appeal.

The appeals process requires the filing of a claim petition with the Division of Workers’ Compensation. Though this process can prove quite lengthy and complicated, it has the potential to help you right this wrong and get your life back on track with the support you need.

Injured While Working? Contact our Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today.

Injured workers should be provided with their workers’ compensation benefits without an extensive legal fight. Schibell Law LLC, lead by Richard Schibell, has represented injured workers for nearly four decades. We are here to safeguard your legal rights, help you obtain the compensation you need as quickly as possible and return your life to normal. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

Richard N. Schibell, Esq.

is the founding partner at Schibell Law LLC concentrating in all aspects of Workers’ Compensation throughout New Jersey. Mr. Richard N Schibell graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Arts, concentrating in both Philosophy and History. He went on to receive his Juris Doctorate degree from Seton Hall University School of Law.

Following his graduation from law school, Mr. Schibell served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Richard W. English, J.S.C., in the Civil Division of the Monmouth County Superior Court.