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Suffering an injury at your Bensenville employer can be a shock. Whether you suffer a fall on a construction site, a repetitive stress injury at a factory or more, you may wonder how to make ends meet while you recover.
In Illinois, most employers must provide employees with access to workers’ compensation benefits after an injury at work leaves them unable to fulfill their job duties for weeks, months or even permanently. However, the process to recover such benefits can be complicated and lengthy. Read on to learn of several common mistakes made throughout the process of submitting a workers’ comp claim:
Waiting to seek medical treatment
You may think you can treat your injury yourself or don’t require an analysis from a physician. However, your injuries could worsen without proper treatment and without sufficient medical evidence, your employer’s insurer could deny your claim. Get treatment as soon as possible to both get the care you need and support your claim.
Reporting the injury too late
Even after a serious accident, you may think your injuries are not quite severe enough to report to your employer. However, waiting to report the injury until it becomes completely unbearable may cause you to lose out on benefits.
Illinois law requires workers to report their injury to their supervisor generally within 45 days of the accident. Those who suffer radiological exposure must report their injuries within 90 days while those who suffer occupational diseases must inform their employer as soon as they become aware of the condition, typically within three years. Report your injury as soon as possible to strengthen your claim.
Keeping insufficient evidence of the accident and injuries
After you suffer an injury, maintain detailed notes of everything. Record your account of events, including dates, times, those involved, conditions leading up to the accident and more. Also record your symptoms, treatment, pain and suffering and more to retain documentation of your injuries and condition following the accident.
Suffering an injury at work can leave you with many questions on the process to come. Act promptly, keep thorough records of the accident and take care to submit a detailed, timely claim to gain access to the benefits you need.
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