If you're injured while working for your employer, it is your responsibility to start a workers' comp claim with them. After that, many things are in the employer or insurance companies' hands to ensure that the claim goes through. Look for these signs that something is being mishandled with your workers' comp claim.
You Notice That Progress Is Not Being Made
When you continue going to work and it seems like nothing is changing on a day-to-day basis, it is a huge red flag that something is wrong. For example, you may have been told to use your normal company health insurance for doctor visits, there has not been a delegated physician that you have been working with, or your pay has not changed to reflect the injury. It's possible that the claim was never filed and that nothing has happened with it.
You Have Not Received An Injury Report
It is not enough to simply tell your employer that you were injured. They may say that they will fill out an injury report, but you need your own copy of it for your records. It should state where the injury happened, how it occurred, and the way that you were injured.
Your Health Insurance Provider Is Making Mistakes
You may encounter problems with how your health insurance is handling the claims from the various doctors or specialists you have gone to. For example, they may have inaccurate information about the injury in their records, or doctor visits are not showing up in your online portal. Don't assume that the mistakes will eventually be fixed, because your health insurance provider could be attempting to minimize the amount that they have to pay out for your claim.
Your Employers Is Downplaying Your Injuries
Any workplace injury should be taken seriously. While a slip and fall is easy to prove if it happened at work, other injuries like carpal tunnel or back problems can be harder to pinpoint as being directly related to work. If your employer is downplaying the extent of your injuries and not attributing them to your job, then this could have an impact on your claim.
Your Employer Is Causing Delays
Sometimes an employer will cause intentional delays so that you get frustrated and give up on filing your claim. Don't let this happen to you if your medical bills are piling up and you are waiting for workers' comp insurance to kick in and pay for them. Work with a lawyer that can fight on your behalf to get you the money you need to recover from your injury.
