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  • previous pageWorker's Comp

  • Top causes of workplace injuries
  • Common worksite accident injuries
  • When workers compensation benefits are not working
  • What you are not told CAN hurt
  • Eight keys to a successful claim
  • When to seek legal advice

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    Workers Compensation Benefits

    Eight Keys To a Successful Claim

    The following information is general information and not intended to apply to every work injury situation. Each case is different and carries its own set of circumstances which must be taken into consideration by competent legal counsel.

    1. Seek emergency medical attention if needed. Seeing a doctor protects your health and establishes your workers' compensation claim. Any delay in seeing the doctor can raise questions about whether you were actually injured on the job. This opens the door for the insurance company to claim that you were injured outside of work.
    2. When you first see the doctor or other health care professional, tell them that you were injured while at work. Give them as much detail as possible about how the accident happened, what the accident did to your body, what you experienced at the time of and immediately after the accident and all other details necessary for a doctor to understand what happened and how it affected you physically.
    3. If anyone witnessed your injury, write down their names and keep it handy. In case there is any dispute about whether you were in an accident or how the accident occurred.
    4. Report in writing any accident to your employer or any employee of the employer who is in a supervisory capacity (foreman, superintendent, company nurse, etc.)
    5. If an injury progresses over time like a breathing problem or carpel tunnel syndrome that is the result of a workplace situation, report the condition as soon as it is realized. The employer must provide you with a claim form on which to describe the injury and how, when, and where it occurred.
    6. Remember that there are time limitations to report an on the job injury or benefits could be disqualified. In North Carolina, notification must occur within 30 days, although there are some exceptions, including occupational diseases.
    7. Make sure to save copies of all correspondence with the employer, its insurance carrier and any doctors concerning the workers' comp claim.
    8. Throughout the entire process you should keep written documentation of all important information about your accident and your claim. Include how the accident happened, your trips to the doctor, your conversations with your employer's management and with representatives from the insurance company.