If you’re hurt or injured on the job in southern California, never, ever ignore it or “walk it off” without reporting the injury. Nothing good comes from failing to report even a minor injury. If you delay, but later you need to be compensated for the injury and your medical expenses, your employer or your employer’s insurance company will probably assert that your injury didn’t take place at work. Thus, you need to report any injury immediately, and after you’ve been seen by a doctor, speak at once with an experienced Los Angeles workers’ compensation attorney.
In fact, a common reason that employers in California deny that injuries are work-related is the failure to report them promptly. If you’re hurt on a Friday, and you choose to “see how it feels” over the weekend before reporting it, you only hurt yourself. Report injuries immediately or as soon as possible. Even if your supervisor or manager knows that you are genuinely injured, if you delay making a report, your employer’s workers’ comp carrier may still deny your claim and counter that you injured yourself at a later time, not at your workplace.
Report the injury; if you still feel fine after a few days, you’ve at least covered yourself. Never forget that employees who can’t be compensated or treated for injuries that diminish their job performance can become expendable employees. After reporting an injury, seek medical treatment at once, and then speak immediately to an experienced Los Angeles workers’ compensation attorney. A good workers’ comp attorney can evaluate your personal situation, outline your alternatives, and direct you through the complicated bureaucratic landscape you’ll confront as you pursue your worker’s comp claim. Don’t wait. If you sustain an on-the-job injury, protect yourself and your future, and contact a trustworthy workers’ compensation lawyer as quickly as possible.