If you are injured at work, it’s important to seek out medical help as soon as possible. It’s also important to report your injury to your employer as soon as you can. To help understand the process of getting help for a workplace injury, it is useful to be familiar with workers’ compensation benefits.
Timely reporting is necessary
Workers’ compensation is an important resource for injured workers. It is a no-fault system, which means injured workers generally don’t need to prove that their employer did anything wrong before they can receive benefits. However, injured workers do need to follow certain rules and procedures.
If you neglect to report your workplace injury, you may miss important deadlines for filing a workers’ compensation claim. The injury could also worsen and make your life and ability to do your job more difficult.
Workers’ compensation benefits can help with medical treatment and wage replacement. Employers in Massachusetts are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance for their employees. All employees are eligible for workers’ compensation protections.
An opportunity
However, the workers’ compensation system doesn’t always work smoothly. Sometimes employers or their insurance providers deny a claim or give the worker benefits that are insufficient to cover the expenses of their injuries. When this happens, workers have the right to a hearing. Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation has an extensive system for appeals.
Because workers’ compensation benefits are vital for injured workers and their families, you do not have to take no for an answer. Whether you have been injured on the job or your injury is worsening, you should know about the benefits available to you and how to obtain them. A workers’ compensation attorney can help at many stages in the process, and the help of an attorney can be crucial at hearings and appeals.
