Law Offices of Leo Hernandez

The Nature of Workers Compensation

Workers' Compensation proceedings, unlike damages for personal injury are heard and determined by a workers' compensation Judge. There is no jury trial. Awards are based on a percentage of permanent disability and this award is not reduced by the employee in obtaining medical treatment.

After You Get Hurt on the Job

1. Report the injury to your employer.

Tell yoursupervisor right away. Reporting promptly helps prevent problems and delays in receiving benefits, including medical care you may need to avoid further injury.

2. Get emergency treatment if needed.

If it's a medical emergency, go to an emergency room right away. Your employer may tell you where to go for treatment.

3. FIll out a claim form and give it to your employer.

Your employer must give you a claim form within one working day after learning about your injury or illness. You use it to request workers' compensation benefits.

4. Get good medical care.

Get good medical care to help you recover. You should be treated by a doctor who understands your particular type of injury or illness.

What to Expect 

Regarding your case, it is your responsibility to inform your employer immediately. At the time of notification, the employer should give you a claim form to fill out, and the employer is responsible for informing the insurance company of the accident. Also at that time it is the employer's responsibility to offer and supply you with medical treatment. That might mean ambulance, hospital or medical care. It is important that you use the doctors that your employer's insurance company sends you to.

At the end of a prescribed period of time you might need to seek out your own physicians to help you with the particular illness you may have. For an individual who has suffered a workers' compensation injury, that may be difficult, as many private physicians do not accept workers' compensation cases and will not bill your insurance company for you. It is usually at this time that many workers' compensation accident victims seek legal council to try to find relief from a chronic ailment that they may have.