Steps To Recovering Compensation For Work Related Injury

The effects of injuries that happen in the workplace can be devastating, especially considering the prices of healthcare and the current economic crisis. Nursing an injury could leave you struggling to pay off your medical bills at a time when you’re unable to work. 

Fortunately, workers’ comp can provide you with compensation for work related injury that you suffered. 

Since filing a claim can be tricky, here’s the full breakdown of the workers’ comp claims process.

What is workers’ compensation?

Workers’ comp is state legislation guaranteeing injured employees compensation for work related injury they have suffered.

The goal of workers’ comp is two-fold:

It helps workers cover their medical expenses, and it also discourages them from suing the employer in order to recover these costs.

According to Florida laws, all businesses need to purchase at least some form of this insurance to address the possibility of workplace injuries.

How to file a workers’ compensation claim

To improve the chances of recovering compensation for work related injury, here are the steps of filing a claim you should follow:

1. Report the injury

To expedite the process, you should alert your employer of the injury immediately. Legally speaking, you have 30 days from the injury or the awareness of the injury to notify your employer, but it’s simply better to do it as soon as possible. 

Upon being informed of your injury, the employer has seven days to report it to their insurer. Failing to do so gives you the right to contact the insurer directly.

2. Seek medical treatment 

Schedule an appointment with a qualified medical professional and start the treatment. Mention your intentions of filing a workers’ compensation claim so the doctor can include any details in your medical chart that connect the workplace accident to your current condition. 

3. Address any disputes with your employer

Upon notifying your employer of the injury, you should receive a letter from their insurance carrier. If no correspondence arrives, you should inform your employer of this fact. 

There’s a law in the Sunshine State that requires you to first try to resolve any dispute with your employer before moving forward in the claims process. 

4. Reach out to an attorney

If you’re unable to resolve the dispute directly, you’re required to file a formal workers’ comp petition. This is by far the most complex step in recovering compensation for work related injury and it will likely require hiring an attorney. 

This legal professional can help navigate the claim and prove that your injuries are a result of actions performed during work hours. 

5. File a formal claim

Depending on the employer, they may supply you with the documentation required to file a claim or file a claim on your behalf. 

You should include the following information in the claim forms:

• Type of injury/condition and the inflicted areas on your body
• Address, date, and time when the injury occurred
• List of witnesses that saw the event take place
• How the accident came about
• Medical procedures and treatments you received to treat the injury
  
  

6. Wait for the claim to be reviewed

The insurance representative will review the claim, inform you whether you were approved, and reveal the amount of compensation. 

The insurer will do the following during their review:

• Evaluate medical records
• Review your previous work experience, wages, and education
• Assess your medical condition by leveraging the assistance of a third-party physician
• Conduct a functional capacity evaluation to check if you can perform your usual work duties

Florida law dictates that insurance companies have to approve or deny workers’ comp claims quickly. Thus, you can expect to receive a decision in 21 days on average. 

If the insurer denies your claim, you can file a petition with the Employment Assistance Office within two years of the original filing. You should also file an additional claim with the Office of the Judges of Compensation Claims. 

Mail a copy of this claim to both your employer and their insurance carrier. 

7. Attend the mediation or court hearing

You may be called in to participate in a formal mediation within 130 of the claim filing date where there’s a possibility to reach a settlement. If mediation doesn’t yield positive results, your claim will go to a pre-trial hearing where a judge will review your case. 

You’ll receive a decision within 30 days of the hearing, which you can also appeal with the Court of Appeals. 

8. Reopen the claim

You can reopen the claim at any time in case you start suffering from delayed onset of symptoms related to your injuries. 

It’s very common for symptoms to appear at a later date. For instance, your injury may have seemed lighter than it actually is and you may develop symptoms such as headaches or whiplash after closing the claim. 

Keep in mind that you can’t reopen the claim in every circumstance. It will depend purely on the type of settlement you negotiated before new symptoms appeared. 

Cases that ended in the so-called “compromise and release” agreement can’t be reopened. However, if there are miscalculations regarding the original settlement, you will be able to reopen a previously closed “stipulation and award” case. 

Ensure the success of your case

If you’re considering filing a claim to receive compensation for work related injury, there are plenty of things you need to get out of the way first. 

You should seek treatment and inform your physician of your progress while also keeping all the records relating to your treatment and recovery. Having all the information and describing your experience of dealing with the injury can significantly bolster your workers’ comp claim.

At this point, you should also reach out to the Law Offices of RITE. Our attorneys have been assisting citizens of Florida with their workers’ comp claims for decades. Your main focus should be your recovery, and we’ll handle other minute details of the claim. Plus, due to our understanding of the process and negotiation skills, we’ll have no trouble maximizing the amount you can recover.

Call (904) 500-RITE (7483) or send us an email at info@rite4justice.com to schedule a free consultation.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.