Work-related injuries are very common. Since we spend most of our time in our workplace, accidents are bound to happen and work injury doctor is paramount for your recovery and insurance claim success.
According to the National Safety Council, the United States alone records over 540 work injuries per hour. This is alarmingly high, and therefore, there is a need to have a work injury doctor on your speed dial.
A work injury doctor is a physician who specialized in work-related injuries. Just like a worker’s compensation doctor, the work injury physician will not only help you get well after an injury, but they will also make sure that your claims to the insurance company are made, and the necessary documents are in order to process your claim successfully.
Therefore, when you are injured at work, it is important to see a work injury doctor that has either been designated by your company or your insurance company. A work injury doctor will help you in more ways than one.
How can a Work Injury Doctor Help you?
In some states, the law allows you to seek medical attention from your personal doctor even when the injury is work-related. Also, for federal employees, you will be covered by FECA, which allows you to choose any qualified doctor to treat your injury. But if you are not a federal employee, the state laws apply.
Here is how a work injury doctor can help you:
- Unlike a general practitioner, work injury doctors have years of experience in treating and managing work-related injuries. It is therefore advisable to seek immediate medical attention from a work injury doctor as opposed to your general primary care doctor.
- A work injury doctor will help you file a worker’s compensation claim. Since they are conversant with the entire process of compensation, a work injury doctor will treat your injury, and at the same time, they will write a comprehensive report that will help you quickly process your compensation.
- In cases where the worker does not have workers’ compensation insurance, for example, in agricultural and domestic employees, the work injury doctor will provide a detailed report that will be used by your attorney or state’s labor department to process your compensation.
But for effective processing of your compensation, you have to make sure you follow all the due processes required. This is where a work injury doctor comes in to assist you. You should timely report your case and seek medical attention immediately.
How long do you have to report an injury at work?
Even if your injury seems mild, you should seek medical attention right away. All work-related injuries should be reported immediately they happen. A work injury doctor will note when the incident happened and when you reported it to the doctor. This information will be crucial when filing your workers’ compensation claim.
Therefore, it is critical that you see a work injury doctor right after an accident at the workplace, or immediately see signs and symptoms that could be due to your work activities or exposure to chemicals at your workplace.
Here is why you should seek timely treatment for work-related injuries:
- When the treatment for your injuries commences early, you are more likely to recover faster and return to your everyday duty.
- Secondly, the shorter the duration between when you were injured and when you sought medical attention, the less room left for speculation by your company or insurance to argue that your work has nothing to do with the accident.
Regardless, you should avoid the temptation to downplay your injuries and assume that they are not severe. This will hinder or obstruct your recovery and may also affect the processing and amount of compensation that you will eventually receive from your employer or the insurance company.
Therefore, if you are involved in an accident at your workplace, it is important to seek medical treatment from a specialized work injury doctor, proper medical attention from a work injury physician will not only ensure you regain your well-being and quick recovery but also help in the speedy processing of your workers’ compensation benefits.
A work injury doctor will ensure that you are adequately compensated for the injuries incurred while at your workplace. Always choose a work injury doctor that has vast experience and is articulate because they play a significant role in your entire works’ compensation process besides diagnosis and treatment of your injuries.
