Obtaining workers’ compensation is a multi-step process, and If you've never been injured at work before, you may not even know where to begin when trying to get the compensation you deserve.
At Barrington Orthopedic Specialists, we accept workers’ compensation, and we want our patients to have every opportunity to be covered for the care they need. Here are a few vital steps you can take to ensure that your claim is accepted by your employer’s insurance provider:
1. Report Your Injury Immediately
In the state of Illinois, workers are required by law to report a work-related injury within 45 days. If you wait longer to file your report, your benefits may no longer be available, stopping the progress of your claim in its tracks.
The sooner you can report your injury, the more legitimacy your claim has in the eyes of your employer’s Workers’ Compensation insurer. In fact, those who wait to file a report often have their claims denied on the basis that their injury was not documented immediately. Be confident in your claim: if you have any reason to believe an injury you sustained at work (including repetitive motion injuries) will result in you needing medical attention or missing work, report it right away.
Additionally, it’s a good idea to gather witnesses to testify to your injury. If your compensation comes to a dispute with your employer, it can be helpful to have others who can verify that your injury occurred at work and not elsewhere.
2. Describe Your Accident and Injuries Clearly
During your report, it’s vital that your medical records provide the insurance company with an accurate description of your injury and the accident that caused it -- a vague or inconsistent medical report can potentially lead to your claim being denied.
You can help your healthcare provider create a sufficient report by describing the event and your injury to them in the most precise way you possibly can. While you don’t need an exceptional amount of detail, your conversation with your doctor should clarify exactly what happened, and that it happened at work. It’s also important to ensure that your testimony to your doctor is the same as your testimony to your employer at the time of the report, and to anyone else who asks what happened during your workplace injury.
3. Seek Medical Treatment Right Away
Seeking medical treatment for a workplace injury as quickly as possible is important for a number of reasons, but primarily for your health. Many of the injuries you can sustain at work can become worse as they progress, potentially leading to greater pain, more invasive treatment solutions, and more time missed at work.
However, consulting a healthcare professional immediately is also a vital step in filing a successful Workers’ Compensation claim. As we’ve stated, the longer you wait, the more likely it is that your employer’s insurance company may deny your claim -- if it is determined that you weren’t injured seriously enough to seek treatment, your eligibility for compensation may easily be called into question.
It’s also important to keep all of your appointments whenever possible. Your reliability as a patient will be taken into account by the company responsible for both accepting your claim and maintaining your benefits. Missed appointments can indicate that your injury has healed, or that you are no longer in need of your Workers’ Compensation.
If you have any questions about filing your claim, or you need medical attention for a work related injury, the team at Barrington Orthopedic Specialists is here to help. Our Workers’ Compensation department is dedicated to assisting patients through this process, and our Schaumburg location offers a work conditioning program which is designed to safely return the injured worker to full duty work following the completion of their acute therapy.
The team at Barrington Orthopedic Specialists has a dedicated workers’ compensation department and can be reached directly at (847) 285-4220, or by completing a Request an Appointment form on our website at www.barringtonortho.com.
