Am I getting the run around from my job regarding an injury and Workers’ Comp?
I ruptured a disk in my neck on my job 3 weeks ago. I didn’t notify anyone “immediately” because I didn’t think my injury was that serious. I was able to finish the last 3 hours of my shift and actually worked for 6 hours the following day while on heavy pain meds. I endured this because I had the next 3 days off and figured I’d be better by that time. Well, I did get worse and visited my job, (with my arm in a sling) to tell them that I wouldn’t be able to work because of my injury and pain. I wasn’t giving any information or assistance from my job so I went ahead and got a form 18 for Workers’ Comp from my state agency and presented it to a secretary at my job the following week who “in front of me” said she had faxed it to the Loss Control Manager. I waited and waited and still hadn’t heard anything from them. I called and they said they never received the form. I finally visited the Loss Control Manager yesterday. They took a statement from me but that’s it.
They said that I could seek medical attention but that I would have to wait till they can prove I was hurt on the job before they can authorize payments. I can’t afford to be hurt, out of work with no income and then get stuck with hight medical bills. Am I just up a creek without a paddle?
Unless you are a government employee… the link provided will not
provide any relative information regarding your eligibility for
comp benefits. WC laws are state speicfic. At this point, you
should be contacting the state dept of industrial relations, and/or
division of workers compensation. Most states have an ombudsman of
some sort to help injured workers with the difficulties they
experience in their claims for WC benefits. And, you should
consider consultation with a attorney handling primarily industrial
injury/illness claims. A message board is not a good substitute for
valid legal advice.
don’t mess around asking your company for anything, they’ll jerk you around as long as they can…follow this link, and good luck http://www.dol.gov/esa/owcp_org.htm
My sister just went through this. In the end she accepted a small settlement. Part of the agreement was for her to leave her job. You have certainly ended your career at that company. All you can do know is fight it through.