Work-related injuries are so common that nearly every employer is required to offer workers' compensation insurance. Despite this, both the employer and the insurance carrier may try to fight your claim. If you would like to better prove your case and document the effects of the injury, you need to seek medical attention. If you would like to know more, keep reading.
To Seek Immediate Urgent Care
Naturally, some accidents lead to severe injuries like broken bones, hemorrhaging, head impacts, etc. If this is the case, you may need immediate urgent care. It can also be beneficial to head to urgent care to prove you don't have anything in your system like illegal drugs. As long as your workers' compensation claim is approved, you should get reimbursed for the emergency visit and any ambulance rides.
Seeking immediate urgent care also helps prove the severity of the accident. If you waited a week before seeking any treatment, the insurance agency may argue you invented the injuries as an afterthought.
To Understand the Extent of Your Injuries
In some cases, you may not fully understand the extent of your injuries. For example, if you broke a bone at work, ideally, the bone would heal perfectly, leaving you with no side effects. However, if the broken bone cut a nerve, you may end up with chronic nerve damage (paralysis, numbness, tingling, etc.) even after the bone is healed.
This is a type of pain and suffering. Pain and suffering can be physical or mental, but it is directly related to the accident and affects your life long after the accident. If you accept your settlement before realizing you have long-term pain and suffering, you may have to pay for future costs out of your own pocket.
To Obtain a Clear Treatment Plan
Finally, you need to keep visiting the doctor to work on your treatment plan. If you neglect to do so, you could be in trouble for not mitigating your injuries. In other words, the insurance carrier will argue you are partially responsible for some of your injuries by not seeking or continuing treatment. With a clear treatment plan, your attorney will have an easier time fighting for a fair settlement.
Getting hurt at work is never fun, and injuries can become expensive. With workers' compensation, however, you can get the money you deserve. If you would like to know more, contact a workers' comp attorney in your area.