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Why You Shouldn't Wait to Get Your Claim Moving

If you have been injured at work there are certain things you need to do if you have sustained an injury. If you plan to file a workers’ compensation claim against your employer for your injuries it needs to be done in a timely manner as there are time limitations on certain aspects of a workers’ compensation claim. For instance if you are hurt on the job you should inform your employer as soon as possible to get it out of the way. By law your employer must be notified of your injury or have knowledge of your injury within 90 days of it happening. It would be best for you and your employer if you tell them right away instead of waiting. If you inform them right away they will be able to get you the treatment that you need and get a first report of injury filed.

After your employer is notified of your injury he/she must fill out a first report of injury and then file it with the workers’ compensation commissioner. This report must be filed within four days of the employer having knowledge or notice of the employee’s injury. If your employer fails to do so, you will still have a workers’ compensation claim, but it might make it more difficult down the road when you need to know specifics about the date of injury. It’s recommended that you file the report, because it helps to give your claim a solid base. It will provide the exact date of injury, time the injury happened, where it happened, how it happened. Plus your employer will have signed it which proves the date that you informed your employer of your alleged injury. It seems like basic information that you would know anyways, but further down the road if it’s been a year or two you may not remember all the details of your claim.

If you are injured at work and have a workers’ compensation claim you generally have two years from the date that you were injured to file a petition against your employer, otherwise, you may be denied benefits and then your claim will be worthless. You may be given additional time to file a petition if you have received weekly workers’ compensation benefits then your time to file a petition may be extended up to three years from the date of the last weekly benefits check issued to you.

However, we always recommend that you at least have an attorney review your case well within the 2 year time frame, because the risk of losing your case on a time limit is too great to even take a chance. An example, we have had cases were an employee thought they were being paid weekly workers’ compensation checks, but in reality they were being paid wages or short-term disability, which do not qualify for the 3 year extension. Also, please keep in mind that your employer or their insurance company paying your medical expenses does not extend the time limit past 2 years.

Handling a workers’ compensation claim on your own may be tiresome and confusing, because the laws can be so complex. If you or someone you know is suffering from a work related injury and has any questions or concerns Walker, Billingsley & Bair is here to help you. Our attorneys are dedicated to leveling the field between insurance companies and injured Iowans.

If you would like to learn more about your workers’ compensation claim you can request a copy of our Free book entitled “Iowa Workers’ Compensation, An Insider’s Guide to Work Injuries”. This book is available to you with no cost or obligation. To request your copy you can visit www.IowaWorkInjury.com or call 1-800-707-2552 ext. 811, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Why offer a Free Book? For more than 12 years Iowa Injury Attorney Corey Walker has represented hundreds of Iowans injured at work. He has seen too many clients make mistakes before they had the “right” information resulting in them losing thousands of dollars. Corey J. L. Walker has helped hundreds of injured workers recover millions of dollars and he practices primarily in workers' compensation law.

Disclaimer: This article contains general statements; it is not intended as legal advice or legal opinions and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Do not act or rely upon the information in this article without seeking the advice of an attorney, because changes in the law occur frequently and you should consult with an attorney with respect to your particular case.