The Peoria workers' compensation attorneys at the firm of The Law Offices of Goldfine & Bowles, P.C., do not want you to lose your case. Therefore, it is important for the injured worker to understand what to do once you have been injured at work so as to best protect any workers' compensation claim you might have.
First and foremost, the injured worker should notify his or her employer within 45 days of his or her injury. While the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act does require you to provide this notice within 45 days, it does not require the injured worker to give a recorded statement to his or her employer's insurance company. These recorded statements should only be given with an attorney present.
When someone suffers a work-related injury, it is important to seek medical attention right away. Any delay in seeking treatment will be used by the insurance company in an attempt to defeat your claim. This is especially true with injuries which at first seem minor and then become more serious.
Give Your Physician a Good History of How You Were Injured.
What the injured worker tells his or her physician, the company doctor or the emergency room personnel when first seeking treatment is critical. Workers' compensation cases have been won and lost based on what is recorded in the medical records as to how the injury occurred. If you have injured your back by lifting a box, it is important to tell your doctor that you injured your back while lifting a box. If the doctor's records indicate that you are unclear how you were injured or that you did not suffer an accident, this will severely damage your case.
Once you have been injured at work, your employer will turn the claim over to its workers' compensation insurance carrier. This insurance carrier has handled thousands and thousands of claims, has expert knowledge of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act, and is not on your side. In all likelihood, you do not possess the same expertise. Level the playing field and get an expert of your own.