When Can A Claim Be Filed For Workers Compensation?

An employee can file a work injury compensation claim when he or she is injured while on the job. Alternatively, they can also file a claim if they develop a disease, which is related to their work. The timing is important as any delay in filing such a claim after the employee succumbs to injuries or falls sick could be a disadvantage as the insurer for workers’ compensation may even deny the disburse the compensation benefits. In fact, when a significant time gap occurs between when the injury occurred and the reporting of the incident, the said insurer may raise red flags and suspect that the benefit claim may be illegitimate.

What happens when an injury or illness develops over a period of time?

Matter can be complicated when an employee has an injury or illness that develops gradually over a period of time.  In such cases there is only a finite time left when 1) you should have been aware or knew that it was a work-related injury and 2) You had taken leave since you succumbed to an injury or went to consult a physician for the injury.

Workers’ compensation process

The initiation of the compensation process happens with sending a notification to your employer about your work-related illness or injury. Moreover, a majority of the states will require the said employee to file a formal claim for workers’ compensation. Your employer should be notified of your illness or injury as soon as possible. The notification should include details such as the place, time and the date of the injury and information on how you succumbed to such an injury. If you wish, you can also include a list f all those witnesses, especially when the injury occurred due to an accident in the workplace.

Generally, an insurer may ask the affected employee or worker to sign the medical authorizations, which will allow the insurer to get in touch with the health care providers of the employer directly to obtain the bills and the medical records of the employees.

However, the employee is not under any type of legal obligation to sign such authorizations. However, if the employee is injured and is filing a work injury insurance compensation claim, is under the obligation to share the medical bills and other records that are relevant to the accident in the workplace.

But, many insurers do not believe the injured workers. Rather they prefer to get those medical records on their own. Employees should give medical authorizations since insurers then get a chance to invade their privacy.