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When you’ve been hurt on the job, you have the right to file a workers’ compensation claim for benefits to cover lost wages and medical expenses. You’ll want to hire an experienced attorney who knows exactly what to do to successfully walk you through the process. But it’s pretty common to ask: what can I do to help get the best result?
A: The sooner you report your injury, the sooner you can potentially start receiving benefits. But there are other good reasons to notify your employer immediately. The more time that elapses between your injury and your notice to your employer, the more risk you have that there will either be some intervening injury—you get hurt at home—that may make it more difficult to determine the actual cause of your inability to work. Furthermore, your employer or the workers’ compensation insurer may see it as evidence that your injury is not as serious as you claim.
A: Seeking immediate medical treatment critical in establishing that your injury was work-related. The longer you wait, the greater the risk of an intervening injury, which can give the workers’ compensation insurer or your employer an opportunity to deny your claim. In addition, if you wait, it may appear that your injury is not that serious.
A: You will be required to submit to an “independent” medical examination, by a doctor chosen by the workers’ compensation insurance company. That doesn’t mean, however, that you must be treated by that doctor or that you cannot seek a second or even third opinion from another medical professional.
A: Be totally honest with the doctor conducting the independent exam. Don’t exaggerate your injuries, but don’t minimize them, either. It’s never a good idea to try to manipulate the system. Don’t tell an examining doctor that you can do more (or less) than you can actually do. It’s not uncommon for workers’ compensation insurers to hire private investigators to follow you and even videotape you. If footage appears in court showing you doing things you told the doctor you could not do, it won’t help your case.
At Pyrros, Serres & Rupwani, we offer over 50 years of combined workers’ compensation experience to injured workers throughout Queens and across the greater New York City area. We emphasize personal service and attention, taking the time to learn what happened, so that we can customize our representation to get the results you want. We get many of our new cases as referrals from doctors, lawyers and satisfied clients.
We take all types of work-related injury claims, including cases involving:
Occupational Disease or Illness | Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) | Fractures | Hip, Leg, Foot and Toe Injury| Burns | Paralysis | Spinal Cord Injury | Permanent Scarring or Disfigurement | Amputation or Loss of Limb | Hearing or Vision Loss | Back and Neck Injury | Shoulder, Arm, Hand and Finger Injury | Accidental or Wrongful Death
To learn more about the services we provide, see our practice area overview page.
31-19 Newtown Ave, 5th Floor
Astoria, NY 11102