Unfortunately, work-related illnesses or injuries are common for many Gainesville employees. Even a simple fall to the ground can result in life-altering injuries that affect your overall health and ability to earn a living. Under state law, most employers must retain a workers’ compensation insurance policy that can provide medical care and wage reimbursement benefits. However, the law places the burden on injured employees to report their harm and obtain the medical attention they need.
Understanding what to do after a workplace accident in Gainesville can help you meet these legal requirements and allows you to seek out all necessary medical care. Following these steps can also help improve your odds of obtaining benefits and help build a powerful basis for an appeal if your initial claim is denied. If you have further questions, do not hesitate to Contact Smith Hulsey to discuss this process with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.
All workers’ compensation cases place the initial burden on the injured worker. According to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated §34-9-80, all employees who suffer an injury due to their occupation must report the incident to their employer. They must do this no more than 30 days after the incident occurs. Alternatively, if the injury or illness is not immediately apparent, workers have 30 days from the discovery of that condition to file their report.
Failure to file this report could have disastrous consequences for an employee. Not meeting this deadline can give an employer or the workers’ compensation insurance company justification to deny benefits for lack of notice. Additionally, failing to file this report on time may serve as powerful evidence of a lack of connection between an injury and one’s job. For this reason, it is essential that employees know what to do after a workplace illness or injury in Gainesville.
One common legal question in Gainesville workers’ compensation cases is whether an employee can connect their accident or diagnosis to time spent on the job. A major part of this is attending visits with doctors and therapists. Fortunately, workers’ compensation insurance plans typically provide full payment for these sessions.
Even with this in mind, it is very important to continue attending sessions until a doctor believes that you have made your maximum level of medical improvement. This means that further treatment will not make any difference, and any disability will need to heal on its own or will be permanent. Attending all sessions will lead an insurance provider to believe that the condition is severe enough to keep you off the job and dispel any notion that your condition is unrelated to your time on the job.
The days following a workplace injury are vitally important for both your health and your legal rights. State law says you must inform your workplace about your injury or illness no more than 30 days after an incident. This notice should be in writing and outline the facts that caused your injury or illness.
In addition, you must be sure to attend all doctor and therapist appointments related to your harm. Not only will this help you make an optimal recovery, but it also serves as powerful evidence of the connection between your medical condition and your time spent on the job. To learn more about what to do after a workplace accident in Gainesville, contact the dedicated lawyers at Smith Hulsey today.
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