Hurt at Work? Seek Help Immediately.

If you are hurt at work, you cannot wait to receive medical treatment. What you do immediately following your workplace injury plays a large role in the outcome of a future workers’ compensation claim, specifically when it comes to the quality of care you receive and the settlement amount you receive.

As soon as you are hurt, if it is not a dire emergency, notify your supervisor or HR manager of your injury. If it is an emergency, seek help immediately, and as soon as you are able to after that, let your employer know about the accident. If your employer has posted names of available physicians, seek one of them out for treatment. If there is not a list, and your employer does not have a recommendation in the moment, go to the emergency room or to your family doctor.

Failure to seek immediate medical treatment could cause the workers’ compensation board to deny your claim. They might erroneously assume that the accident wasn’t that bad because you waited or that you’ve filed a claim just to get money you don’t deserve.

When you get to see a doctor, make sure you tell him or her that you are there because of an accident that occurred at work. That puts the doctor on notice that detailed medical records and notes will be a necessity for a future claim. Make sure he or she writes down everything that hurts because injuries to one part of the body often manifest as pain in other areas. If you are not a doctor, do not assume that what happened to you is insignificant—that is for your doctor to determine.