Report Your Workplace Injury Without Delay!

Minor accidents happen every day at workplaces. If you cut yourself, bump your head, sustain a slip and fall or any injury at workplace while performing your duties, you should report the injury to the supervisor or employer as soon as possible. Even if you think that the injuries are minor, you should ensure that there is an incident report on the file.

This is extremely important in order to protect your rights in the future, even if you think that the injury will not turn into something serious in the future.

Reasons why you should report every workplace injury:

Many workers sustain minor injuries at their place of work and do not bother to report the injury or seek any medical attention. However, in some cases, it can prove to be a costly mistake. If you sustain an injury at the workplace there are three important reasons why you should report it:

1. A minor injury can turn into something more serious than you expect

While you may initially think that the injury is not serious enough to require medical attention, it may turn out to be something more serious that you anticipated. A seemingly minor bump of the head that you sustained when an object hit your head may actually be an indication of bleeding or bruising of the brain, which requires urgent treatment, otherwise it can lead to brain damage. A sore knee could actually be a torn ligament and tingling fingers could be carpal tunnel syndrome. It is important to report such injuries or you may end up with a serious injury, which has not been reported and there will be no documentary proof which shows that injury is work related. This may jeopardize your chances of getting fair workers compensation benefits.

2. Failure to report injury in time can result in denial of workers compensation benefits

It is important that you report the injuries in a timely manner to the supervisor or employer to get workers compensation benefits. Any delay can lead to denial of benefits. Workers compensation would cover your medical expenses even if that involved a checkup to make sure that the injuries are not too serious. If the injuries require treatment, you will be eligible for medical coverage and disability benefits. To get these benefits, an injury report must be submitted in a timely manner.

3. Failure to report injury can make it difficult to prove workers compensation claim

Submitting the injury report and getting prompt treatment for the injuries will ensure that you have documented proof the injuries you sustained in the workplace accident. If you fail to report the injury in time, the insurance company will get a reason to contend that the injury is not work related, and they may raise questions about whether the injury is actually serious and actually causing pain or discomfort, or the worker is just exaggerating.

If you have been injured at the workplace, you should get in touch with a competent St Louis work accident lawyer to know your rights and get help with the claim. Call (314) 361-4300 to schedule a free and private consultation.