How To Save Evidence For Your Claim
If you suffer an injury while working, there are a few steps that you can follow to protect yourself. Insurance companies will have investigations, witness reports, incident reports and investigators all at their disposal to try to issue a denial of workers’ compensation benefits.
So, it is important for the employee to document their injury when they suffer an on-the-job injury. Here are some simple ways an injured worker can build their own file of evidence to ensure that they receive the work comp benefits that they are entitled to.
- Report the work injury right away to the employer. Do not delay, as waiting to report an injury at work will only damage a workers’ compensation case.
- Write down witness names and find out what they witnessed.
- Take pictures of what caused the injury and of the injuries themselves. Use a camera out a cell phone.
- Demand to fill out the claim form for workers’ compensation benefits yourself. This is called a DWC-1 form.
Remember: Everything that the injured worker says to the employer will be put in an incident report and their words will be distorted to try to delay or deny work comp benefits.
Take Effective Action As Soon As Possible
- Seek medical attention right away. Don’t tough it out, get checked out. A workers’ compensation doctor’s report on the date of injury is often crucial in proving that an on-the-job injury did occur.
- Get the help of an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer. A good workers’ compensation attorney will be able to help protect the rights of just about any injured worker throughout the application process.
None of these talks should take very long to carry out and the benefit to your case could be substantial. Many perfectly good workers’ compensation cases are made difficult by injured workers not reporting the injury right away, not seeking immediate medical attention, and not thinking to collect witnesses when the injury happened.
Documenting Information Is Critical
Memories fade and people leave their jobs, so it’s important to get names and contact information right away from people who witnessed the injury. Workers’ compensation insurance companies have a detailed file on all injuries and the injured worker should begin preparing their own file as soon as the injury occurs.
Free Consultation
Contact a local workers’ compensation lawyer who can help use that file to fight for all possible work comp benefits. Call the Law Office of Eric M. Overholt at 619-908-1563 or send an email to request a time to meet.