What Should I Do If I’m Injured On The Job?

As a small business employee, if you get injured on the job there are a few basic, but important, steps to take in order to help ensure you receive the care you need and the workers’ compensation benefits to which you may be entitled.

When an injury or illness occurs, promptly report it to your supervisor. The sooner they are notified, the sooner you can get help. In general, you must report an injury within 30 days of its occurrence to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits.

If emergency treatment is necessary, call 911 or go to an emergency room immediately. Inform the hospital staff that your injury or illness is work-related, and contact your employer as soon as you are able to do so.

After your employer has been notified, the next step is for you or your employer to report the injury to your workers’ compensation insurance carrier. If you are the one reporting your claim, there are a few key pieces of information that will be requested. It is best to have the answers to the following questions prepared:

Employer’s name and address
Your name, address, social security number and date of birth
State in which you are working
Your occupation (job title) at the time of injury
Date of injury
Address/location of accident (was the accident on employer’s premises?)
How did the accident occur?
How many people were injured in the accident?
Part(s) of the body injured
Did you return to the next scheduled shift after the accident?
Do you hold a 40-hour-per week position?
Your wage on the date of injury (salary per hour, day, week or month)

Upon officially filing your claim, a claims professional representing your carrier should contact you within a few days to get the full details of your injury or illness and explain the workers’ compensation process to you.

If medical treatment is necessary, your carrier will provide a list of nearby providers skilled in work-related injuries. Your regular doctor can treat you only if you predesignated them—meaning it was approved in writing, before the injury.

It is important to keep your scheduled medical appointments to facilitate your recovery. You should pass along all medical and return-to-work information to both your treatment provider and your claims professional, keeping an open line of communication amongst all parties involved.

You must take into consideration that every case is different. With a workers’ compensation carrier like EMPLOYERS® who has a Managed Care Services team, you can rest assured that your claims professional is working to help navigate you through the recovery process and get you back to work when you are medically able.

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