What can you expect if you sustain an injury while in the course and scope of your employment?
Usually, the insurance company will initially acknowledge the workers’ compensation claim. Often times they will pay the wage loss and the medical expenses. But at some point in time, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, you are going to have trouble with the insurance company. Many people try to wait and avoid hiring a lawyer for fear that it will somehow make the employer mad, that somehow the employer will take adverse reaction towards them.
Unfortunately, that almost always comes back to haunt you. Invariably, the insurance company and even the employer will use that against you and take advantage of you under the laws. Remember, not knowing the law is not an excuse. If you fail to follow the correct procedures, (like not documenting your injury or filing the appropriate documents) it does not matter that you are trying to be a good employee. It does not matter that you are trying to be a team player.
So in that regard, you need to get an experienced work comp lawyer involved once you have sustained any type of, what I call a, real or serious injury. Even though the insurance company continues to pay you and pay the benefits to which you’re entitled, it is not a matter of if there’s going to be a fight, it’s a matter of when.