Workplace injuries are nothing to take lightly. Every day across the country, thousands of people are injured while they are on the job. When this happens, serious permanent injuries, disabilities, and problems can potentially occur. That’s why every employee that is injured while on the job at their place of work is entitled to workers’ compensation.
While every workplace’s benefits are different—depending on the nature of the injury and other circumstances—workers are entitled to compensation that assists them in getting the medical attention and financial support they need. Some of the most serious injuries that can occur on the job include neck, back, and spinal injuries. When these occur, more likely than not, a worker will have to seek medical attention and leave work for an extended period of time.
When this happens, it’s important to ensure that you get proper compensation in order to receive the medical care you need, as well as to help you and your family get through this time you have to take off from work. Unfortunately, some businesses’ workers’ compensation policies can get complicated. From lack of benefits to outright denial of a claim, sometimes injured workers are neglected in their time of need. Here’s how you can maximize your workers’ compensation benefits if you experienced a neck, back, or spinal injury while on the job.
What to Do After Being Injured in Order to Optimize Your Claim
When you get injured at work or while performing a job-related task, there are a few things you need to do to make sure you receive compensation:
- Seek Medical Attention
Due to the serious nature of neck, back, and spinal injuries, the first and most important step is to seek medical attention for your injury. When in medical care, if possible, make sure you report to the medical professionals that your injury was work-related. Seeking medical attention immediately after the injury occurs is also a good way to record your injury. This is important for documentation, as it provides a record of the severity of the injury created by professionals in the medical field.
- Report Injury
Once you are well enough, the next step of the process is to report your injury to your employer. While, by this point, they will most likely know about your injury and the inciting incident to some degree, it’s important to report it to them and present them with all the details that you can remember. The sooner you report an injury, the better. Otherwise, insurance agencies may be able to dispute any claims that took too long.
- Keep Records / Document Case in Detail
Another crucial aspect of ensuring that you get the workers’ compensation you deserve is by keeping records. Recording your expenses, your hospital visits, the costs of surgery, even how many days of work you had to miss are all imperative details needed to maximize your claim. On top of that, neck, back, and spinal injuries can often keep someone from being able to work and even make them bedridden for weeks. Because of this, it’s crucial to record how much this entire process costs you.
- Know Your Workers’ Comp Disability Rating
Sometimes work injuries can result in disabilities. Whether the disability is temporary or permanent is a deciding factor in how your workers’ compensation will be handled. If you’ve had a work-related injury result in disability, it’s important to know and understand your workers’ compensation disability rating.
The four main categories of disabilities are:
- Temporary Total Disability: Prevents you from working for a specific amount of time
- Temporary Partial Disability: Prevents you from performing some but not all of your duties related to work for a specific amount of time
- Permanent Partial Disability: Prevents you from performing work-related duties permanently
- Permanent Total Disability: Prevents you from ever being able to work again
Seek Legal Help
In cases like these where a serious injury occurs, you will most likely need to seek experienced legal help to fight for the compensation you deserve. Unfortunately, many insurance companies will try to deny as much responsibility as possible to avoid large payouts.
Common Neck, Back, and Spinal Injuries
There are a multitude of different neck, back, and spinal injuries that can occur while on the job. Of course, all these injuries can occur with differing severities. Here are a few of the most common ones:
Neck Injuries:
- Whiplash
- Herniated/Bulging Disks
- Fractured Bones
- Cervical Dislocations
- Partial or Full Paralysis
- Strains and Sprains
- Thoracic Spine Injury
- Lumbar / Lower Back Injury
- Spinal Cord Issues
Spinal Injuries:
- Muscle Strain
- Fractured Vertebrae
- Spinal Stenosis
- Spondylolisthesis
- Cervical Dislocation
Maximizing Your North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Claim
No matter if it’s a spine or back injury, being hurt on the job is nothing to take lightly. Medical bills and days off work can add up quickly. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that you maximize your workers’ compensation claim to help you through the process.
Neck, back, and spinal injuries are some of the most serious and grueling injuries that a person can experience. They often require consistent doctor’s visits, physical therapy, and extended periods off of work. Because of their severity, the compensation for these injuries tends to be higher. These higher compensation payouts are crucial for anyone who is seriously injured and missing work. But, more often than not, insurance agencies may try and pay the smallest amounts they can.
Get Help with Your Workers’ Comp Claim at Acree Law
That’s where we come in. At Acree Law, we have represented hundreds of employees in their workers’ compensation claims and fought for the compensation that they deserved. We understand just how imperative these payouts can be for you and your family in this time of need. That’s why we work to maximize your workers’ compensation claim for any neck, back, or spinal injuries throughout North Carolina.
To learn more about our experienced workers’ compensation attorneys and how we can represent you during your injury process, contact us here, or give us a call today. Get help now to receive the compensation you deserve and get better soon.