Call Toll Free 1-888-792-3595

How to Avoid 3 Costly Work Injury Mistakes

Avoid these 3 Mistakes in Your Work Injury Case

1. Report Your Work Injury and Ask for Medical Care

If you are having pain and/or problems doing your job then you should follow the proper procedures at your work to report a work injury and ask for medical care. If you simply, tell them that “I will be alright” and later on it turns out that your condition is more serious than you thought then you may have a big problem. Failing to see a doctor after an injury can create big problems in your claim.

2. Tell Your Medical Providers Everything that Hurts and If You Have Had Injuries or Prior Problems with the Same Condition

What you tell your medical providers is very important and will be written down in your medical chart. It is important that you tell your medical providers about everything that hurts. For example, if your main complaint is your arm, but your shoulder is also bothering you then you need to tell all of your medical providers about both your arm and shoulder. If 3 months down the road, you first mention your shoulder, this can create problems. Also, if you have had prior work injuries or problems with the same area of your body you need to tell your doctors about the prior problems. Under the workers’ compensation system you do not have to prove that you were in perfect health before a work injury, just that your job activities made the condition significantly worse, what is known as an aggravation. The doctors will likely eventually be provided with all of your prior medical records when asked to give a medical opinion so be up front and honest with them from the beginning.

3. Continue Requesting Medical Care if You are Still Having Problems

It is common for the company doctors to release you back to work even when you are still hurting. If this happens, and your pain does not go away after a few weeks then you need to request additional medical care and get back in to see the company doctor. Failing to see a physician regularly can be considered evidence that you have made a full recovery. If the company doctor says “follow-up as needed” this means that you need to come back in a few weeks if you have not made a full recovery. If you do not go back to see the doctor, then this can create significant problems in your claim.

If you would like to know other costly mistakes and how to avoid them click here and request our Iowa Workers’ Compensation Book which is available at no cost.