Have you been injured on the job? Check out these 5 common workers’ comp questions for guidance, then call our lawyers to get started today.
1) Do I Need to Report My Injury?
We got a call the other day from a gentleman who was injured on the job out in the Naperville area. He wanted to know if he needed to report his accident. He had left work and hadn’t told anybody about it. Our statute requires that you do give notice. You have 45 days to give notice of an injury, but it’s silly to wait that long. You should give notice immediately and make sure that the claim continues properly from that point forward. If you have any questions about this or any other aspects of your comp claim, give us a call and let us help you.
2) Can my claim be denied if I don’t report the injury in time?
We get calls all the time from people out in Naperville area who ask us how long they have to report a claim. Our statute requires that you give notice to your employer about your claim within 45 days, including the day that it happened. It’s jurisdictional. That means that if you do not give notice of your injury within that time period to your employer, your claim is going to be denied. If you have any questions about when the timeframe is and how it runs, give us a call. Let’s make sure.
3) What do I do if my employer refuses to file an accident or incident report?
We got a call from a gentleman in Naperville last week who had been injured at work, had done everything properly. He had given notice of the accident to his immediate supervisor. He was attempting to get medical treatment. What he found out was that his employer had refused to file the claim and give notification to the carrier. That’s going to have a terrible effect on getting the benefits going in that case.
We’ve had to do this on numerous occasions. We’ve had to contact the carrier ourselves and self-report that claim on behalf of our client just to get the thing going. If you’re having difficulty in this situation where your employer is not cooperating with you and standing in the way of you getting your benefits, please give us a call. Let’s do something about it.
4) Do I Have to See a Company Doctor for Medical Treatment?
We got a call just this morning from a gentleman in Naperville, Illinois, who was notified that he was being sent to see a company doctor for what he was called – what was called an IME, an independent medical evaluation. He told us that he didn’t want to go. We informed him, unfortunately, that you do have to comply with that section. It’s Section 12 of the Workers’ Comp Act that allows the employer’s insurance company or their defense attorney to have you evaluated periodically.
The one difference is that they cannot dictate treatment to you. They can only evaluate you and do periodic exams when necessary. One of the things that we have to be watchful for is that they don’t abuse that Section 12 privilege. If you have a question about whether or not you’re required to see a company doctor or under what circumstances it’s required, please give us a call. Let’s discuss it.
5) What if the Company Doctor Releases Me to Go Back to Work, but my Own Doctor Disagrees?
A lot of times, we’ll take a phone call from a client who is trying to decide whether or not he wants to retain a workers’ comp lawyer at this time. We always encourage them to get a lawyer involved as soon as possible. One of the reasons is, so many times, we’ll get a phone call that a client has been effectively representing himself. Then all of a sudden, he’s informed that his claim has now been denied because they sent him for an independent medical evaluation and his benefits are being cut off. They seem very surprised that despite the fact that their treating doctor believes that they need to stay off work and continue to treat that the insurance company is ignoring what their doctor’s recommending.
This can happen. They’re entitled to representation and their own experts; you’re entitled to yours. It’s why you need to set your claim up immediately. Get the case referred to an arbitrator so that we can act quickly and get before an arbitrator and let him mediate that dispute basically between the competing doctors. If this is a situation you find yourself in or you want to make sure that you don’t find yourself in it, please give us a call. Let’s make sure we can set your claim up so that we can avoid that unfortunate circumstance.
Do you or a loved one have questions about a workers’ compensation claim in Illinois? After checking out our 5 common workers’ comp questions, contact our experienced workers’ compensation lawyers today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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