Don't Ruin Your Workers Comp Claim: Avoid Doing These Things

If you are injured while working, you may think that a workers compensation payment is a given. However, there are still some things that you can do to hurt the process and potentially make your approval more difficult. Here are some things to avoid. 

Behaving Resentfully Towards Your Boss

It's important to maintain a good working relationship with your boss during this process. Even if you are upset about the situation, don't get hostile with an employer; their cooperation is key to corroborating your story. The employer has an opportunity to dispute your claim's validity, if they wish, and this can complicate the situation a lot. 

Blasting Your Activities on Social Media

You may wish to be less active on social media while your claim is being evaluated. This is especially true if you have any friends on Facebook who are also coworkers or bosses. If these people see that you were out having fun, they may wonder why you can't be at work. The evidence may be passed along to the insurance company. 

Telling Too Much to Coworkers

Along the same lines, it's a good idea to be guarded about your personal life at the time of your injury. Any information that you pass along to coworkers could potentially come up in discussions about your injury. 

Refusing Work Without Good Cause

Another faux pas that some people make is not showing up for work if they are assigned an alternative position. If you are medically able to accept replacement work, you must do so as a part of your workers compensation process. Otherwise, you may be disqualified from getting assistance. 

Missing Medical Treatments

The workers compensation review team may want to see that you are following up on your medical treatments correctly. For instance, if you were recommended to get surgery or to attend physical therapy for several weeks, and you fail to do so, the workers compensation evaluator might decide that you are responsible for your injury not healing, which could jeopardize your payments. 

Any of these missteps could cost you a lot in your workers compensation claim. They may cast doubt on the severity of your injuries as well as who's to blame for the situation. If you want to have the best chances of a workers compensation claim that goes through on time, it always helps to hire a workers compensation lawyer who can counsel you on the best courses of action to take as you wait for approval.