Injuries on the job can significantly affect your work duties and personal life. You may not initially know how serious an injury you have or when you should report it.
If you sustained an injury at work, here are three considerations related to reporting your injury.
Injury reporting timeline
It is a generally accepted practice that you report workplace injuries as soon as possible. However, the actual timeframe you have to report a work injury varies by state.
Your timeline could require reporting anywhere from four days to as much as ninety days from the date of the incident. In some cases, you could have years to report your injury.
Immediately reporting your injury increases the chances of your worker’s compensation claim approval. The longer you take to file your claim, the higher the chances that your claim could appear to be non-work-related occurrences or could appear to be fraud.
Injury severity
If you sustained a serious injury at work, you would typically seek medical assistance immediately and then report your injury. However, regardless of severity, you should report all workplace injuries.
Benefits of injury reporting
In some cases, your injury reporting can highlight a potential hazard in your workplace. Your employer can evaluate the situation that led to your injury and work towards making your environment safer.
Many times, your work injury may seem minor but become more severe over time. Therefore, it is essential that you report injuries in a timely manner to ensure that you can receive the care you need to recover and avoid further aggravating the injury.