Every year, several million workers across the United States suffer some sort of injury or illness at work. Despite decades of governmental regulations and monitoring of the workplace to improve safety, accidents still happen and workers still get hurt. For some, the injuries are minor and recovery occurs quickly. For others, more serious injuries often result in permanent disability and an inability to ever work again. Whenever injury strikes, workers need to understand how to respond to ensure that they don’t suffer any more than they have to. The key to accomplishing that goal is to know what to do after a work injury occurs.
How bad is the problem?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 3.7 million American workers from both the public and private sectors experienced job-related injuries and illness in 2014. Of those, more than 1.1 million ended up missing some time away from their jobs during recovery. Just three years prior, nearly 3 million workers ended up seeking treatment in emergency rooms as a result of workplace accidents and illness. While the number of injured workers in 2014 was almost 54,000 fewer than the previous year, there is almost universal agreement that far too many U.S. workers continue to be hurt on the job.
The Financial Toll
Occupational Health and Safety has reported that a UC Davis researcher studied the costs associated with the nation’s workplace injuries and illnesses and estimated it to be around $250 billion a year. So, while the nation as a whole has seen a decline in the number of job-related injuries over the last decade, it has seen a simultaneous increase in the financial toll associated with the injuries that still occur – some $33 billion more than a previous study conducted in 1992.
Those costs are an important factor for any injured worker to take into consideration. While most official studies examine the cost to business and the economy as a whole, the human part of the equation cannot be ignored. Injured workers often miss time from work. Many require medical care or hospitalization, as well as physical therapy to recover from their injuries. Some are injured so severely that they can never again work in the same field – if they are able to work at all.
Medical costs, lost wages, and the possibility of a diminished capacity for work in the future make it all the more important that any injured worker know how to respond when an accident occurs.
How to Respond To an Injury
There is a right way and a wrong way to respond to any workplace accident and injury. The wrong thing to do is to ignore pain and rely on the hope that you’re not seriously injured. The longer you wait to respond to an accident, the harder it will be to ensure that your interests are protected. So, above all else, react quickly. The following steps can help:
- Report the injury to your supervisor immediately. Have it assessed so that the right people at your workplace are made aware of when and how you were hurt.
- Get medical attention, even if you want to believe that the injury is minor. Remember, many serious injuries often take several hours to fully manifest. The sooner you receive medical treatment, the better. Have your employer provide you with any incident report documentation you’ll need.
- That doctor will likely be one from your employer’s worker’s compensation network. Verify that fact before you seek treatment or you could end up being stuck with the medical bills.
- Verify that accident reports have been filed. If you are going to miss work and need worker’s compensation, you will need to have proper documentation of the incident recorded.
If you live in Texas, there are some specific steps that you need to take as well:
- If you didn’t report your injury right away, you must do so within 30 days of the time you first learned that your injury was work-related. Failure to do so could result in a loss of any benefits to which you might be entitled.
- You also have to complete an employee claim for compensation form and send it to the Division of Worker’s Compensation in the Texas Department of Insurance. This must be done within the first year after the injury occurs.
- Know your rights. The fact is that some employers are resistant to taking care of injured workers. As a resident of Texas, however, you have rights that include obtaining free help from the state’s Office of Injured Employee Counsel.
Things to Avoid
In every jurisdiction, you need to take steps to protect yourself and ensure that you don’t do anything that might cause medical coverage or future compensation awards to be denied. For example, if medical attention and ongoing treatment has been recommended by a physician, be sure to attend all appointments and treatment sessions – no matter how you feel. A failure to do so could be used against you in later proceedings.
If your injury prevents you from working for an extended period of time, do not try to return to work prematurely. If you feel well enough to return to work – but not well enough to perform all of your prior work duties – find out whether your employer has any type of return to work program. Those can often help injured workers ease back into the work environment with reduced or altered workloads.
Above all else, do not allow problems to linger. Injuries need to be treated properly. Claims need to be filed in a timely manner. Doctor’s instructions need to be carried out as ordered. And if a worker’s compensation claim ends up being denied, you need to pursue dispute resolution as soon as possible. Never delay.
Injuries can be traumatic no matter when or where they occur. When they take place in the workplace, however, they can prove even more destructive – costing the injured worker lost wages, stress, and even long-term suffering. By knowing your rights and the proper steps to take in the aftermath of an accident, you can help to better preserve your interests and mitigate any damage.
CONTACT HERRMAN & HERRMAN IF YOU HAVE BEEN INJURED IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF ACCIDENTS:
We can help you if you have been harmed by the following:
- Car accidents – Our lawyers have extensive experience handling car accident cases. We will work to identify the party or parties at fault for the crash and build a case to demonstrate persuasively how the parties caused the accident and your injuries. We will seek fair and full compensation through a negotiated settlement or at trial if necessary.
- Truck accidents – Thousands of large commercial trucks travel the roads of Texas every single day. Unfortunately, careless truck drivers and trucking companies disregarding safety put innocent people at risk of serious injuries. If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, let our experienced Texas personal injury lawyers stand up to the trucking companies and insurers on your behalf.
- Motorcycle accidents – Motorcycle riders often suffer grievous injuries in crashes caused by other motorists. Too many motorcycle accidents in Corpus Christi are caused by careless drivers who don’t look for motorcycle riders or violate their right of way. Our personal injury lawyers will work to cut through the bias and stigma against motorcycle riders. Our goal is to seek the financial compensation that you’ll need to recover from a serious motorcycle accident and injuries such as bone fractures, road rash, or traumatic brain injury.
- Product liability – Product manufacturers have a legal obligation to make products that are safe for their intended uses and to warn consumers of any risks that may come with the product. When products have design or manufacturing defects or undisclosed dangers, the product manufacturer may be legally responsible for injuries suffered by consumers. Our attorneys can help you evaluate whether you have a valid product liability claim.
- Brain injury – Brain injuries can leave accident victims with disabilities that leave them unable to work or perform many tasks of daily living. Seeking compensation for a brain injury in an accident often proves incredibly complex. The brain injury survivor may seek compensation for anticipated future medical care and the medical care already provided. Our personal injury lawyers can help you through the difficult recovery process following a brain injury and will fight to make sure you have the resources you need.
- Spinal injury – Spinal cord injuries could cost millions of dollars of care over the course of the victim’s lifetime, especially when those injuries result in partial or complete paralysis, such as paraplegia or quadriplegia. If you or your loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, you deserve compassionate legal representation. Our attorney can help you determine whether you may be entitled to claim compensation for your injury and expenses related to living with the disability, such as making a home more accessible.
- Wrongful death – If you have lost a loved one due to the negligent or reckless actions of another party, your family deserves to seek accountability and compensation from those at fault for the wrongful death. Our caring and dedicated attorneys can help guide you and your family through this difficult and painful time and seek justice for your loved one.
ABOUT HERRMAN & HERRMAN PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS
With over 100 years of combined experience among the legal team of Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., our Texas personal injury attorneys have successfully resolved over 20,000 cases. When representing injured Texas residents, we fight for justice against wrongdoing and aggressively pursue the best resolution to complex personal injury claims.
If you or a loved one was injured, please get in touch with us for a free initial consultation and case evaluation. Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., is a locally based law firm that holds negligent individuals and companies accountable for their wrongdoing. We are not a personal injury mill that advertises nationwide. We provide individualized advocacy in attending to all aspects of claims that involve. Our firm has offices in the following locations: Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi South Side, Dallas, Brownsville, McAllen, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Ft. Worth, TX.
We remain by our client’s side, handling all aspects of their claims and attending to all legal, medical, and financial needs. That dedication combines experience, legal knowledge, and insight from a former insurance adjuster and several former insurance defense attorneys. Whether our clients suffer from physical pain from an accident or the emotional grief of death, we treat clients with compassion. We put their mind at ease during difficult times by answering their questions concerning the length of their claim, medical bills, financial compensation, and their overall need for a lawyer.
