A pallet slips. A wrist twists. Provided you have done a thousand of them before, a back seizes on a lift you have done a thousand times before. Now the issue isn’t what, but what do they do in the next couple of hours? The decisions you make within those few hours will determine the amount of medical benefits which will be paid, when wage benefits will start, and also how much time you will have to allow when the claim is challenged.
Here’s the good news: This process is distilled into a short list of practical steps, to be taken in a sensible sequence, in the first 72 hours. The instructions that follow are presented in the form in which people ask it, accompanied by the when.
The very first thing to do
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Get medical attention. All of the following steps in this guide are behind that one step. If it is serious, dial 911 or ask a friend or family member to take you to the ER.
If it is not immediately apparent that it is serious, then seek help from a clinician the same day anyway if it does not feel right. There are lots of workplace injuries that seem minor at hour one, but seem much larger at hour, forty-eight. It is typically caused by back injuries, head injuries or any injury involving a joint and/or burn.
Be sure to notify the health care professional dealing with the injury, clearly, that the injury occurred at work. That one sentence alters the way that the visit is documented and billed. If you have a medical network or a designated provider in your company, use that plan if it is available, but don’t let a medical network slow your access to emergency medical care. If there’s a story to be filed later, it will be done.
When to tell your employer
Immediately inform your employer – preferably the same day – that you are ill. Each State has its own Workers’ compensation programme, and each has a different time limit – and those time limitations are less than most people realise. Some jurisdictions will cease payments of past wages after some weeks of not hearing from the claimant and will refuse to make a claim after a certain number of months.
Under Pennsylvania law, if you receive a written notice within 21 days of the work stoppage, you are entitled to backdated wage-loss benefits; if you don’t receive a written notice at all within 120 days of the work stoppage, then you are totally without wage-loss benefits. Make sure to double check the exact deadline at work, but don’t think of it as weeks, it’s days.
Report in writing, and be aware that it is protected by federal worker protections to not be subject to retaliation. A text, an e-mail or a completed incident report will overcome a hallway conversation you’ll be hard pressed to defend next time. Stay brief: What, Where, When, Body Part and Seek Medical Care. Collaborate on saving a copy prior to sending.
What to document in the first 72 hours
Anything that you would want another person to be able to understand 6 months from now. It is easy to forget things and the information that seems like common sense at the time will be questioned by the adjusters later. Do it for 20 minutes when it’s hot.
- The scene. Photographs of the area of the incident, the equipment used, any spill or obstruction and the lighting. Wide shots, as well as close-ups, both help.
- Witnesses. Any names and personal contact information of anyone who saw it or arrived immediately afterwards. People have longer retention of cell numbers than work numbers.
- A written timeline. What you were doing – what didn’t work – how you felt – who you told and when. It is OK if the notes in your cell phone have dates on them.
- Medical records. All discharge documents, work restrictions, prescriptions and all subsequent appointments. Don’t wait to ask for copies, ask as you go.
- Expenses. This includes mileage to appointments, out-of-pocket prescription expenses, medical devices and anything that you needed to pay for at home.
When to call a lawyer
It’s not a matter of a courtroom drama to justify a phone call. If the injury keeps you out of work for more than a few days, if the claim is denied or delayed, if the employer claims the injury didn’t occur on the job, if a third party is involved (subcontractor, a defective product, a driver who hit you on the job) or if you feel pressured to sign something, that’s when you need outside guidance. The cost of consulting most workers comp attorneys is typically nothing, since they work on a contingency basis, and provide free consultations.
Another early call early can help to confirm your track. Sometimes, the answer is that you’re doing the right things and you should keep on going. A law firm that focuses on workplace injury representation sees the same predictable mistakes over and over, and ten minutes on the phone can save months of friction later.
It’s not for the sake of “lawyering” it up. Doing so is to get the first 72 hours to do what they should do and the next 72 days are spent on working out the kinks, not fixing them.
