Whether it be from falls, lifting, or being struck with objects, back injuries are one of the leading injuries in Illinois Workers’ Compensation cases.
If you suffer a back injury you should be aware how to help your case and maximize your settlement.
The first thing you should do after hurting your back is to file an accident report with your employer as soon as possible.
The injury report will detail how you hurt yourself, the time, date and place of accident, and body parts injured and any witnesses. You should also notify your supervisor. This will protect you from your employer claiming the injury did not happen at work.
The next step is to make sure you get medical attention. The sooner the better. You must tell all medical personnel that your injury happened at work, explain how it happened, and describe all body parts injured. Failing to seek medical treatment promptly and failing to tell staff how that you were injured at work will damage your case. The insurance company may argue that you are not seriously injured because you have not seen a doctor immediately, or that you were not injured at work if it is not described in the records.
You should also treat with a doctor consistently and follow treatment recommendations. Once again this shows the seriousness of your injury and that you are not the cause of any additional problems because you did not follow doctor’s orders.
You must also follow your doctor’s restrictions. Some insurance companies will send an investigator to follow the injured worker and attempt to video tape them doing things that show that their back injury is not severe. Of course, this will seriously reduce the value of their case.
Questions about your Workers’ Compensation injury? Feel free to contact Illinois Work Comp Attorney Dirk May with Williams and Swee at 309-827-4371.