Being injured at work can be a scary and confusing experience. It’s hard to know how to react in these situations, but you must get medical treatment right away, regardless of what your injuries look like. Doing so can help save your life, or prevent long-term damage like paralysis and traumatic brain injury. Medical treatment is also needed in order to file a workers’ compensation claim. This benefit provided by your employer can help pay for medical costs and lost wages if you’ve been injured in a workplace accident.
But there are different types of medical facilities at your disposal, which may lead you to ask, “Should I go to urgent care or ER if I was injured at work?”
This answer is complicated when it comes to workplace accidents. It’s important that you take the right steps in order to process your claim and receive the full value of your benefits. However, you have legal rights as an injury victim that must be respected by your employer. This includes the right to legal representation if there are disputes over your injuries and treatment options. You may also have grounds for a lawsuit in addition to filing for workers’ compensation if someone other than your employer is responsible for your accident.
Have you been injured at your workplace, or while you were performing your job duties? If so, please speak with one of our attorneys about the legal actions that are available to you.
Ways You Can be Injured on the Job
Workplace injuries vary, depending on the environment you work in. However, there are common accidents that can happen in just about any kind of workplace. Here are some examples:
- Slip and falls
- Trip and falls
- Falling from high areas
- Overexertion via pushing, carrying, pulling, and throwing motions
- Electrocution
- Third degree burns
- Being hit by falling objects
- Repetitive motion injuries (nerve damage)
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Assaulted by co-worker / visitor
If you are in hurt in any way while you are on the job, you must report the incident to your employer as soon as possible. Make sure there is a written report of the accident and ask for a copy for your own records. Your employer or HR representative should assist you in filing a workers’ compensation claim right away. This is essential for making sure that your claim is filed in a timely manner.
If your employer isn’t cooperating with this process, or you disagree with the way they’re handling your claim, contact the workers’ compensation lawyers of Normandie. We will do everything we can to protect your rights and recover the compensation you’re entitled to as a workplace injury victim.
ER versus Urgent Care: What’s the Difference?
In general, emergency rooms are best for life-threatening injuries, like profuse bleeding, spinal cord or neck injury, deep gashes exposing the bones or joints, and severed fingers or limbs. You should also go to the emergency room for injuries like hip fractures, broken nose, and severe pain in the knees. These conditions can result in disability if they’re not treated right away, which is why they’re considered medical emergencies.
Urgent care facilities are reserved for non-life threatening injuries. These include a wide range of conditions, like first degree burns, minor cuts and scrapes, back pain, and sprains or strains in the ankle and hands. In short, if the injury is unlikely to result in death or disability, urgent care is usually the best option. One downside to urgent care compared to ERs is their availability. While urgent care centers have late hours, they’re not open 24/7, nor do they have the full range of services that are offered at an emergency room.
That’s why you must go the emergency room if you need immediate attention from a doctor. Make sure to contact your employer as soon as you can so they can start the process to initiate a workers’ compensation claim. But if your injuries are not life-threatening, you’ll need to undergo a different process, according to California’s laws on workers’ compensation.
Special Rules for the Treatment of Workplace Injuries
If you have an accident at your workplace, you’ll need to go to a medical center of your employer’s choosing. The only exception, as we mentioned above, is for life-threatening situation that require immediate treatment. Otherwise, your employer will direct you to a physician under their medical provider network (MPN). Your employer may also have an HCO, or healthcare organization that employees are referred to for the treatment of workplace injuries.
One exception to this rule is if you had predesignated your own doctor or medical practice prior to your accident. In that case, you can be treated for your work injury by your own doctor. Another exception is if your employer does not have an MPN or HCO. But even if they don’t, your claims administrator can still choose a doctor for you within the first 30 days of your accident. After 30 days, you can be treated by your own doctor at a facility of your choosing.
There are special rules as well for alternative medicine practitioners, like acupuncturists and chiropractors. As you can see, workers’ compensation laws are complex, and it’s easy for victims to misunderstand or miss out on treatments as a result. You may also have problems getting clear answers or timely responses from the claims administrator. If you’re in this situation, please give us a call and speak to one of our workplace injury attorneys. We will be happy to educate you on your rights and legal options.
What if I Disagree with the Doctor’s Diagnosis?
Some of our clients come to us specifically over this issue: what are my rights if I disagree with the doctor that’s been chosen by my employer? This can happen at the beginning of your injury when you don’t agree with the doctor’s diagnosis. Or, you may disagree with the course of treatment prescribed by the doctor at some point in your recovery.
Depending on the type of injury, you may be able to see a qualified medical evaluator (QME), which is a physician that’s been certified by the California Division of Worker’s Compensation. This can be helpful, since a QME is a neutral third party that has no bias towards you or your employer. The other option is to retain a lawyer, who can speak with your claims administrator and come to an agreement on a doctor for you to see. This is the best way to protect your rights if your employer is being less than cooperative or fighting you on any issues related to your claim.
Are you in need of advice or legal action regarding a workplace injury claim? Call our office and speak to an attorney who can help you get results.
Can I File a Lawsuit for Workplace Accident Injuries?
Unlike the average personal injury claim, employers cannot be sued by their workers for injuries on the job. There are two major exceptions to this rule:
- Intentional misconduct: is when the employer knew about a hazardous condition, but failed to remove or resolve the situation. Many of these cases involve OSHA violations, meaning the employer was clearly aware of a situation that violated state workplace safety standards.
- Third party liability: refers to the responsibility of someone other than your employer for the conditions that led to your injury. For example, a construction worker that was injured by defective equipment can sue the manufacturer on top of claiming workers’ compensation benefits.
Third party liability exceptions are extremely important in cases of severe injury. Unfortunately, workers’ compensation coverage is limited and may not be enough to cover your losses following a workplace accident. It’s essential in these cases to go after any and all parties that are liable for your injuries. However, proving third party liability can be very challenging without the right kind of legal knowledge. Our attorneys have the skill and experience to after the responsible entities and bring you the compensation needed for your recovery.
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Help from the Attorneys of Normandie
Obtaining workers’ compensation should be a smooth and simple process. But that’s not always the case, as we’ve seen with our previous clients. We are passionate about protecting the rights of workers and fighting for the benefits they are entitled to under California law. If you have any questions or concerns about your workplace accident or the process for obtaining compensation, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We will be happy to speak with you during a free consultation, where we can advise you of your rights and the legal actions you can take to recover your losses.
If you agree to let us represent you, you won’t have to pay anything upfront for our services. We operate under a Zero fee guarantee, so the only way we get paid is if you get paid. That’s right – if we don’t bring you the compensation you deserve, you pay us nothing and we eat the costs.
Whether you’re starting the workers’ comp process or you have a pending claim, contact us today and let us fight for your rights.
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