3 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Injured on the Job

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slip injury

Workplace injuries are challenging enough as it is. After all, you’ve gotten hurt, and you have to navigate everything that comes along with an injury. Not to mention, there’s the added stress of making sure you don’t forget any important steps along the way. 

After all, if you fail to take the right steps, you could find yourself not only missing out on lost wages and being able to cover your medical expenses, but you may experience long term injuries that could affect you for the rest of your life.

To help you, here are some of the most common mistakes people make when they’re injured on the job and what you can do to avoid them.

Failing to Report The Injury

Before you even consider filing for a claim, or looking for a workers comp lawyer in Chicago, New York or even Miami.  Regardless of where you are, it’s important that you take the first step— which is reporting the injury. 

Failing to report the injury as soon as possible could lead to serious issues down the road. Most workplaces will have a strict timeline in place for how and when you should report the injuries. 

Missing these deadlines will result in your claim being denied leaving you without the necessary care or financial compensation for your lost time. You need to make sure that you report all your injuries regardless of how minor there are two year supervisor as soon as possible. Make sure that beyond verbally reporting the injury that it’s also documented on paper you want a paper trail to show that you followed through with every step.

Not Seeking Medical Attention

Another common mistake is reporting the injury but failing to seek medical attention. You need to make sure that you see a doctor right away to make sure that the injury isn’t as bad as you think it is. Far too often, we assume that something may just be minor, when in reality it could flare up and get worse over time.  This is especially true for spinal injuries. Always seek medical attention after a workplace injury even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal.

Going Back to Work too Soon

Going back to work too soon is a huge mistake because this could exacerbate your injury more rather than giving you the time to heal. Returning too early to the job won’t just aggravate your injury either. It could potentially affect your claim because it insinuates that you’re fully recovered. Always follow your doctor’s advice about when it’s the safest time to return to work, communicate clearly with your employer about what your recovery timeline is, and explore additional options if they want you to get back to work.  Perhaps you could work on lighter-duty tasks if possible rather than physical ones.