Halloween is right around the corner, and in theme with the spooky season, we want to focus on some of the things that people fear about the workers’ compensation claims process. One thing we’ve noticed is that many clients say that they were hesitant or downright afraid to inform their employer about their injury and their need to take some time off work to recover. You should never be afraid to inform your employer about your injury, and we explain why in today’s blog.
Don’t Fear Informing Your Employer About Your Work Injury
We understand that you probably don’t enjoy delivering bad news, and informing your employer of your work injury certainly qualifies as bad news, but that doesn’t mean you should try to hide the truth or be afraid to tell them about your injury. Here’s why:
It’s Necessary For Compensation – Workers are a protected class and you deserve to be compensated for injuries you suffer while performing your work duties. However, you’re only eligible for compensation if the proper protocols are followed, and one necessary step is informing your employer about the injury. They need to complete paperwork on their end and create an official record of the injury, and this will be difficult to do if you don’t talk to them about your injury. If you want to get paid for lost wages or medical expenses, you need to inform your employer about your injury.
They Can’t Legally Retaliate – Employers are not legally allowed to take disciplinary action against a worker because they suffered an on-the-job injury. If they fire you, demote you, transfer you or cut your hours because they are frustrated with the situation, you may have another lawsuit on your hands. Your employer likely won’t be obvious in the event they do take retaliatory action against you as a result of your work injury, which again speaks to the importance of having an experienced workers’ compensation attorney by your side throughout the process.
There Are Time Limits – You have a specific deadline for informing your employer about your work injury, and if you fail to inform them of your injury within this time period, your injury claim may be denied even if everything else about your claim is valid. In Minnesota, you have 14 days to inform your employer about your injury or symptoms without jeopardizing the validity of your claim. Don’t be afraid to inform your employer about your injuries because waiting too long can cause your claim to be denied!
Evidence Preservation – Finally, the sooner you inform your employer and get the ball rolling on your injury claim, the easier it will be to build a strong claim. Video recordings can be preserved, witness statements can be collected while the incident is fresh in everyone’s mind and other types of evidence can be obtained before it is lost or discarded. It’s much easier to build a strong injury claim a day or two after the incident compared to a week or two following the injury, so don’t be afraid to talk to your employer right after the injury in order to preserve as much evidence as possible for your future claim.
After informing your employer of your injuries, the single best thing you can do for your claim is to connect with a workers’ compensation lawyer. They’ll be able to assess your injuries, review evidence and develop a strong claim that will counter some of the arguments made by your employer’s workers’ compensation provider. If anyone has anything to fear, it should be the insurance company seeing that an injured employee has connected with a seasoned workers’ compensation attorney dead set on getting their client the compensation they deserve following a work injury. Let us be that resource for you.
For more information, or for help with a different aspect of your injury claim, reach out to Dean and the team at Margolis Law Firm today at (952) 230-2700.
