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When it comes to seeking your benefits and compensation, we’ll make sure that you understand everything we do and everything that needs to be done.
If you’ve been hurt at work, you typically have 45 days to report the incident to your employer, though its best to do so as soon as you can. After you’ve notified your employer, you may want to consider contacting a lawyer who can help with the case.
Hiring a worker’s compensation attorney can be the difference between being awarded the appropriate compensation and receiving nothing, so it’s important not to take any chances. When you’re hurt on the job, contact a work injury attorney in Niles to get the claims process started.
Learn About the Most Common Workplace Injuries
When you get hurt at work, it can change your whole life in an instant, and that’s why it’s important to act quickly when it comes to seeking compensation.
If you’re not sure if your injury will qualify for benefits, one of the first things you can do to get a better idea is to learn about the most common workplace injuries so that you can compare them to your own situation. This is helpful because many injuries that may seem like they wouldn’t be eligible for compensation in fact are.
Some of the most common workplace injuries include:
- Traffic incidents: Injuries happening during a traffic accident involving company vehicles.
- Fall to a lower level: Falling off a ladder, down stairs, or off a roof.
- Caught in/compressed by: These injuries typically involve heavy machinery and happen in factories.
- Struck against an object: Injuries involving objects like windows, walls, or doors.
- Slips and falls: When a person slips and falls on a slippery or uneven floors
- Struck by an object: injuries that involve falling or dropped objects.
- Workplace assaults: When one or more workers is assaulted while at work.
- Overexertion: Perhaps the most common workplace injuries, these involve pushing and pulling, carrying and holding, throwing and lifting.
What to Know About Worker’s Compensation Cases
Even though a work injury attorney in Niles, Illinois will greatly benefit your claims process as they will be able to walk you through every step, it can still help to learn more about the different aspects. For example, you should know what the statute of limitations is, what type of paperwork you’ll need to keep on hand, and what type of compensation to fight for.
The types of compensation to fight for can include permanent injury, lost wages, medical bill reimbursement, and more. To learn more about each aspect of your claim, discuss things with your work injury lawyer.
How to File a Claim and What to Expect
Filing a workers compensation claim can be complicated, which is why a work injury lawyer can be so much help.
The first thing you do will be reporting the incident to your employer. This should be done within seven days of the injury’s occurrence. Next, if you seek medical treatment, be sure to let the medical staff know that your injury is work related. Sometimes, workplaces will require injured employees to see certain doctors or visit certain hospitals or clinics.
After your doctors or your employer submits a report to the insurance carrier, the carrier will determine whether the claim is compensable. If the claim is found to be compensable, the carrier, the employer, and the injured party will discuss what the rate of pay or benefits will be while the injured person recovers. If the claim is denied, the injured person will have the opportunity to appeal that decision.
