What should do if I was hurt on my way into work?
If you were hurt on your way into work, you should contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as you can. You should seek medical attention right away. You should let your employer know about your injury. As soon as you can, you should document as much as you can about the environment in which you were injured with photographs, voice memos, and/or writing what you remember down.
When you explain how you were hurt to a lawyer, he or she may be able to guide you in how you should best proceed with dealing with your employer and your injuries. The dedicated legal team at Cohen & Cohen is available to listen to what happened at no charge to you and to give you a free case evaluation. Someone is available to take your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Discussing your situation with an experienced lawyer who is licensed to practice in the state you were injured in is a good idea for several reasons. It does not matter whether you were hurt on company property on your way into work, or if you were hurt on your commute to work. A good lawyer will be versed in the laws surrounding injuries sustained at work and should be able to help you determine whether or not you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. The sooner you talk to a lawyer, the sooner he or she may be able to start building a strong case for why your injuries were not your fault and why should be compensated for them by your employer.
Many people who are injured at work do not have the knowledge and resources to feel like they can benefit from taking the time to explore their different options. Many people who are injured while on their way into work, think that their employer is being kind and altruistic in offering to let them use their workers compensation insurance. While employers are legally bound to offer workers compensation coverage to employees injured on the job, accepting workers compensation insurance is not always the best option for an employee. Even though workers compensation insurance often seems like a solution to your new medical problems and bills because you do not have to pay for your treatment, doctor visits, and other medical related expenses- it can prevent you from getting fully compensated for related problems that may arise in the weeks, months, or even years after your initial injury. To find out what your best options are, do not hesitate to call a personal injury lawyer who understands workers compensation laws and how they might affect you in the future.
It is important that you advise your employer of your injury right away even if you are concerned that they may try to terminate you because of your injury. If you do not tell your employer about your injury and wind up having to sue them for compensation you are entitled to, your failure to inform your employer of your injuries may be used against you.
While it is important to document how, where, and under what circumstances you were injured, it is also important to be careful of who you talk to. If fellow employees (innocently or deliberately) repeat what you told them about your injury, this information may be used to discount your claims if your employer tries to dispute their responsibility to pay for your injuries. Documentation that occurs directly following an accident often carries more weight in a court of law than someone describing their memory of something that happened in the past.
To help you determine whether you have a personal injury claim that you may be able to seek compensation for, contact Cohen & Cohen, today.
