5 Steps to Follow After an Injury at Work
It can be a confusing time to figure out your next steps after an injury at work. You may have gone from working every day and feeling significant to being in pain all the time and not knowing how to get better. It can also be difficult because you’re unsure whether you’ll recover enough to go back to work. The five steps below will help guide you through this tough time.
Know what you’re entitled to
You should always know your rights before taking any steps, and that’s no different after an injury at work. The first thing is to read over the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) policies for your state so you can see if they have anything specific in place for situations like yours. They’ll likely cover medical benefits and how much compensation will be paid out per week based on a percentage of income loss. Also, it covers return-to-work programs and other supports offered by employers when employees are off work because of injuries. Taking some time to look into this information may help make everything easier. Also, help you get all the money owed to you, and you’re entitled to!
Talk with your Employer
One important thing is communicating what happened and how it affects you. It may be difficult to talk about, but having a conversation will help ensure everyone involved knows where they stand legally and their work environment. This may mean providing information on the injury and when it occurred so both parties can document everything. For example, if an employee was injured one month ago but now reported the incident, there could be complications in getting all the paperwork filled out. This step won’t come into play right away after an injury. But it should happen as soon as it’s clear that an accident is going to prevent you from being able to work for a while.
Work with the Doctor Assigned by your WCB Provider.
If you’ve already been in contact with a medical professional, then this step will probably be pretty easy. It can help if there are questions about treatments and how they affect your recovery time. Thus, a hospital staff dealing with workers’ compensation cases can give some guidance and clarify everything. After all, no one wants something like waiting too long for surgery due to confusing guidelines. This will only add more stress when what people need right now is peace of mind! This step may not seem important at first, but getting proper care early on will allow you to start the healing process faster, instead of having everything postponed because of confusion about what’s needed or if specific steps are permitted.
Find out about their Return-to-work Program.
This step is all about following up on communication from earlier! Keep an open line of communication between yourself and whoever was assigned by your WCB provider. Also, anyone responsible for implementing a workplace rehab plan can be helpful. It may also help ensure that everyone involved keeps track of how much longer it’ll be before returning to work once again. This means there won’t be any issues when trying to get paid during working hours while unable to do the job itself. It’s hard to keep up with everything, but it’s important not to let things slip through the cracks when so many details are involved.
Exercise your rights and don’t back down as you work towards Recovery
Keep in contact with everyone who needs updates on how you’re doing along the way. Consult a Seattle L&I attorney, fill out all documents that need completing and take care of yourself above anything else. After an injury at work, it might almost feel like a battle since there are other people involved who may or may not have your best interests in mind. However, staying strong during this time will help ensure nothing is overlooked. Being part of something positive after suffering from an accident is worth it. Especially if there are things, you can do to help speed up the recovery process while staying healthy.
Final Thought
In the end, there’s no need to feel defeated following an injury at work. Having a solid plan in place will help ensure everything goes smoothly and quickly without worrying about anything else!
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