What to do in the Event of a Work-Related Injury

Accidents in the workplace are sometimes unavoidable, and many can result in serious injury. In the event that you are injured on the job, you must take every step to get the appropriate care for your injury.

The first thing to know when it comes to treating a work-related injury is that you want to choose your own doctor to examine said injury, not a doctor chosen by your employer. Oftentimes, doctors chosen by employers are not trustworthy sources, as they will downplay your injury and misdiagnose you. 

In the event of a misdiagnosis, you run the risk of losing worker’s compensation benefits to which you are entitled. Though this is immoral and seems hard to believe, you would be surprised to learn how many high-profile companies pull this dirty trick.

You have every right to visit your own primary care physician after suffering a work-related injury, and it is imperative that you do so in order to get an honest evaluation. If not, you run the risk of being scammed by a dishonest and unethical doctor who is conspiring with your employer.

The next thing to know is you must report your work-related injury in a timely fashion. If you wait too long to have an injury checked out, your employer will likely argue that the injury did not occur on the job. Let’s look at an example:

Jennifer works as a waitress and is wounded by a shard of glass from a plate dropped by a careless fellow employee. Although she is in severe pain, Jennifer hides the injury and continues to work through the pain out of fear of disappointing her boss. Over the course of two weeks, though, the gash worsens and becomes infected. Left with no choice, Jennifer goes to the doctor to receive treatment for her wound. 

Jennifer’s doctor prescribes her antibiotics and tells her to take a week off of work to recover. Because this accident happened at work, she files a worker’s compensation claim. However, because she did not report the injury when it happened and waited two weeks, her boss insists the injury did not happen at work and her claim is denied. Not waiting to push the issue further, Jennifer is forced to exhaust all of her sick leave. 

To review, here are the two major things to understand when dealing with a work-related injury: 1. get examined by your own physician and 2. do so in a timely manner.

We always hope that injuries at work can be avoided, but the reality is that accidents happen. If you or a loved one is injured on the job, please keep in mind these two crucial pieces of advice.