Your employer provides you with a valuable form of insurance at no cost to you; your workers' comp insurance. If you get injured on the job, or in a job-related manner, you can get some much-needed benefits, such as a portion of your wages so that you can stay home and get better and full payment of your injury related medical expenses. First, however, you must start the ball rolling by ensuring that an accident report gets filed. Read on to learn more about this report and what you can expect.

The Accident Report

1. As soon as you can, let your direct supervisor know about your injury. The exact reporting time-line varies by state, but you cannot get benefits without filing an accident report. Whether your injury was sudden or it was result of accumulated damage over time, you are entitled to workers' comp benefits. Even if your pre-existing condition was made worse by working conditions, you are entitled to benefits.

2. Many times, the accident report is filled out by your supervisor with your input. In some cases, there are sections for your supervisor to fill and sections for you to fill out. Since workers' comp is a state-run program, your workers' comp state board website can provide useful information about filing a claim and may even provide a copy of an accident report for you fill out, if needed.

3. It's vital that your report be as accurate and complete as possible, so don't sign a report that has even the smallest detail wrong. Be sure that you list any witnesses to an accident, since corroboration can be important to your claim.

What Happens Next

If your claim is approved, you can expect, in addition to medical expenses and wage assistance, the potential for:

• Job retraining: If you are ultimately unable to return to your previous position, you may qualify for vocational rehabilitation. This training will teach you new job skills and help you get back to work.
• Lump sum settlement money: If your injury is so catastrophic and serious that you cannot return to work, or if your injury fails to heal enough, you may be deemed with a permanent injury. This will entitle you to either a lump sum settlement payment or to other periodic forms of monetary payments.

If you are experiencing issues getting your workers' comp claim approved, or if you are dealing with a permanent injury, contact a workers' comp attorney immediately such as Freedman, Wagner, Tabakman & Weiss for assistance.