Workers Comp Claim

Injuries at work can and do happen all too often, a workers comp claim is received by workers comp insurance companies at alarming rates, how would you cope with a workplace injury or accident at your place of work? Are you covered? How will you survive with little or no income for an extended period following an accident if you're not?

If you have a work related injury or illness, whether it's a completely new injury or an aggravation of a pre-existing injury or illness, you may be eligible to make a workers comp claim and receive an ongoing entitlement and/or lump sum benefit. You are entitled to claim workers compensation whether you're employed on a permanent, casual, full time or part time basis or through an employment agency.

Workers comp laws do vary somewhat from state to state and the information provided here is from personal experience and research, is only general in nature and not meant to be taken as legal advise, it may be beneficial to seek the consideration of a workers comp attorney in your state, however, rest assured you do have some form of workers compensation cover if you are unfortunate enough to sustain an injury whilst at work, and so you should.

Immediately following a workplace injury, the first step you take must be:- you and your Doctor must complete an accident report form and notify your employer as soon as possible after the time of the incident.

You must fill out a workers comp claim form, the employee section, date it, sign it as soon as possible and I must stress that you always, always retain a copy of any documents related to your case. You or your representative must then give or mail the completed claim form to the employer, make sure you retain a copy. If sending by mail, please ensure you use certified mail with a return receipt requested so you have a record of the date it was sent and received.

Failure to submit your claim form in a timely manner, could risk your chances of receiving any benefit, and be left open to be interpreted as a fraudulent claim, even if it's not. You might also want to contact your state workers compensation board or industrial commission, to ensure all documents have been successfully filed, and the incident reported.

The main benefits of workers comp can include indemnity payments for lost wages, payment for medical services, payment for rehabilitation services and in some instances, death benefits to your dependants.

Your workers comp claim can provide for lost wages for either temporary, or permanent disability. In injury situations involving permanent incapacity, workers compensation will provide for a lump sum payment.

Also, you could be provided with rehabilitation services, that assists you in returning to some form of employment post injury, most states do include provisions in their workers comp laws for rehabilitation programs which obviously benefits employees and employers, since rehabilitated workers are more likely to return to productive work.

The list is a seven page PDF and You can obtain the workers comp 2010 Hourly Rates by Business Type & Risk Classification Code (266 KB PDF). by clicking on this link HERE to download it directly, it is provided by Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. They also provide numerous other helpful documents and information about your workers compensation claim, trust me, the better informed you are, the quicker, smoother and more successful you'll be when filing a workers compensation claim.

Other very helpful links and resources to assist you with the successful process of your workers comp claim are located below.

This is a segment of a media release about a recent new law, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger late last week signed into law AB 2774 (Swanson) which clarifies the definition of a serious citation.  The new law is designed to improve Cal/OSHA’s citation process by redefining how serious violations are cited. The legislation also clarifies procedures for issuance of a serious citation and procedures for the appeals process when determining if the citation was issued correctly.

“This new interpretation of a serious violation will help strengthen the Cal/OSHA program, improve enforcement efforts and better protect California’s workers,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Len Welsh.  “It will help us accurately issue serious citations to more effectively address the most egregious violations.”

New factors used to accurately issue serious citations include any training given to employees and supervisors, existing workplace safety procedures, supervision of employees exposed to the hazard, as well as any contributing information the employer wishes to provide to explain why the employer believes that no serious violation exists.

Employees with work-related questions or complaints, including heat illness, may call the California Workers’ Information Hotline at (866) 924-9757 http://www.dir.ca.gov/

We've covered a lot, there's too much to place in this one article, so I hope I have provided you with the information you seek, make use of the number of useful PDF's and links to authorities and other websites on this page regarding your workers compensation claim, please ensure you do your due diligence and remember to retain copies of all forms and documents related to your claim for your own records. Oh, and here's one more PDF it's the DWC Claim form, just click Here to download it.

You may be eligible for some or all of the benefits listed depending on the nature of your claim. If required you will be notified by the claims administrator, who is responsible for handling your claim, about your eligibility for benefits. To file a worker comp claim, complete the “Employee” section of the form, keep one copy and give the rest to your employer. Your employer will then complete the “Employer” section, give you a dated copy, keep one copy and send one to the claims administrator. Your compensation benefits can’t start until the claims administrator knows of the injury, so complete the forms asap.

If you found this information useful, please add your comment or encouragement below. Thank you for your time and I wish you all the best.