Milwaukee Workers’ Compensation Attorneys
Be prompt and accurate in reporting all injuries.
Properly reporting the injury to your employer is one of the most important steps in a workers' compensation case. It is the foundation of the claim process.
If your injury was witnessed by coworkers, it will make the filing of your claim much easier. However, many injuries are not witnessed by anyone other than the injured person. In this situation, it is essential to report the injury to a supervisor. It is very common, and part of human nature, to think that the pain will get better. Consequently, the injury will go unreported for a period of time. This is the wrong approach. You are better off, in almost all cases, to report the injury because you don't know what the consequences of the injury might be.
You have 30 days to report an injury to your employer. Some employers will deny a workers' compensation claim if it is not reported within a certain time pursuant to a work rule (i.e., not reported within two days according to a labor contract). This is not a basis for denying a work injury. (It may be a violation of a work rule, however.) The 30 day rule should be adhered to, but it is usually not fatal to making a claim. The employer must show it was misled by not receiving the 30 day notice, and this is very difficult for the employer to do.
If the injury was not witnessed, and there is no supervisor immediately around to whom to report the injury, tell a co‑employee about the injury and how it happened. That co‑employee may become a witness in your claim should you be forced to a hearing.
A properly recorded and reported injury at work can sometimes work in your favor when trying to clarify the injury to your treating doctor. Many times, the initial history given to the doctor is not fully understood by the doctor (or perhaps because of the situation, the injury was not described at all to the doctor, only the symptoms themselves at the first visit). The employer's written record of a properly reported injury at work can be given to the doctor to help the doctor understand the fact that there was an injury and how it happened, thereby making the doctor more comfortable about writing a report linking symptoms to a work injury that was not initially properly reported to the doctor.
If Your Employer Won't Report Your Injury to the Workers' Compensation Insurance Carrier
Your employer is required by law to report your injury to its workers' compensation carrier. An employer or insurance company that does not keep reports or make reports of injuries can forfeit to the State of Wisconsin between $10 and $100. Your employer and/or its workers' compensation insurance company can be penalized if you receive delayed workers' compensation payments as a result of a failure to make or transmit a report of an injury.
If your employer fails to report your injury to the insurance carrier, there are steps that you can take. If you know the name of the workers' compensation carrier, you can report your injury to the carrier directly and not wait for your employer to do so.
If you do not know the name of the carrier, you can contact the Wisconsin Workers' Compensation Division directly at 608/266-1340 and report your problem. The Division may contact your employer and tell the employer to report the injury, or it may be able to give you the name of the employer's workers' compensation carrier so that you can report the injury.
You may also have the remedy of a bad faith claim against an employer who refuses to report your injury. These types of claims must be carefully reviewed on an individual basis.
