If you get hurt at work, you might think you have bad luck or that it is very rare to injure yourself at work. This is actually far from the truth. Work injuries are more common than you may think, and even if you’re careful, you might still end up being hurt. In this article, you will find tips on how to deal with a work injury the right way

Seek Medical Help

If you have been in any type of accident at work, you most probably will get hurt. Even if you don’t feel any pain and believe that you’re not injured, it is best to get yourself checked out to make sure you’re fine. If it turns out that you are indeed hurt, it is very important to follow up with your doctor and to receive the necessary treatment. Thinking that the accident resulted in a broken or fractured bone, contact an ambulance or get someone to do that for you and don’t move until the paramedics attend to you. Make sure that your doctor writes you a medical report explaining your injury and the damages done due to the accident.

Keep a Copy of All Important Documents

In cases when your insurance provider or place of work are denying you your rightful compensation, you will absolutely need proof to support your claim. You must have medical reports indicating that your injury is the result of a work related matter. The medical report must as well indicate the impact of the injury on both your mental and physical health. You should have a copy of your written notice reporting your injury to your supervisor as proof that you did actually report it right away and within the time limit. Be sure to have a copy of all the previously mentioned documents to make sure that if you lost one copy you will have the other.

Report Your Injury

It shouldn’t ever slip your mind to report any injury to your supervisor right away. Most workplaces require that you provide a formal written notice to your supervisor, but in some places, a verbal notice is sufficient. If you’re not sure then it is best that you go with the written notice reporting the accident, and even if your workplace allows you to give verbal notice, it is never wrong to also provide them with a written one. Having a written notice is beneficial as it is hard proof of you reporting the incident to your supervisor.

Contact an Attorney

During the whole stressful process, it is necessary to have a qualified attorney handle all the legal matters on your behalf. Hiring a professional and qualified attorney is important as they will ensure that you will be provided with the rights you deserve. Therefore, contacting a workers’ compensation lawyer as soon as you can after the accident is a must. It is important as well to provide your lawyer with all the accident details, even the minor details that you believe are useless because hiding anything from your lawyer no matter how small could backfire later on. Make sure to provide your lawyer with copies of all the important documents mentioned above as they will need them during negotiations. Don’t go into meetings with anyone from the opposing party without having your attorney with you or at least consulting them about it, and don’t accept any compensation or deals without having your lawyer’s opinion first.

Keep Track of the Expenses

During the entire process, it is very important that you keep track of all of your expenses related to your injury. Your compensation is partially based on the expenses that result from the injury, for example, doctor’s fees, hospital fees, or medicines if needed. Keep proof of those transactions and keep track of them. Provide your lawyer with all the details of these expenses and ask them about which expenses will be provided in the compensation to know exactly what you need to keep track of.

Because the healing and the legal process of work related injury may be hard and long, it is important to take care of your mental health during that time. Try to reach out to your loved ones or spend some time around people who love you. Seeing a professional at that point is recommended as well to be able to overcome this stressful phase with good mental health. And while you are recovering, know that compensation is your right if it is a work accident and you should make sure that at the end of the day, you will be provided with your rights.