Protecting your income after a workplace injury involves immediately seeking medical help and reporting the incident to your superiors or employer. You should also follow your organization’s workers’ compensation claim filing guide and keep detailed records relating to your injury and health.
Following all these steps is crucial to your claim’s success, the benefits of which include serving as a medical security and financial safety net for your treatment and recovery. You shouldn’t carry the burden of paying for these expenses, as they can reach thousands of dollars.
Indeed, the “price” of workplace injuries goes beyond treatment fees; they come with many other costs, from wage losses and administrative expenses to medical bills and employer losses. The National Safety Council even points out that in 2024, the cost per medically consulted workplace injury amounted to $48,000.
What Qualifies as a Workplace Injury?
Workplace injuries are not just injuries that arise during or from one’s course of work.
If a worker’s job role or work environment causes, significantly aggravates, or contributes to any physical or mental harm, illness, damage, or abnormal condition, then it usually qualifies as a workplace injury. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has guidelines for determining an injury’s or illness’s work-relatedness under OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1904.5.
The keyword to remember here is “work-relatedness.” Workers’ compensation coverage only applies to job injuries that satisfy this requirement.
Even if an employee sustains an injury at the workplace, if it occurred as a result of doing something not related to their work, then it likely won’t qualify for occupational loss recovery under workers’ comp.
What Are the Most Common Workplace Injuries?
The latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that in 2024 alone, there were over 2.48 million recordable cases of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in the private sector. It also provides other eye-opening statistics, including:
- 568,150 DAFW (Days Away From Work) cases involving sprains, strains, and tears (making these workplace injuries among the most common)
- 479,480 DAFW cases of slips, trips, and falls
- 248,180 cases of injuries to the exterior and musculoskeletal structures of the back
What Steps Should You Take to Protect Your Income After a Workplace Injury?
A workplace injury can put your income in jeopardy by forcing you to take time away from work to recover. If it’s a severe injury, it could even cause a long-term reduction in your earning capacity.
Considering the short- and long-term effects of work injuries, you’d want to do everything in your power to protect your personal and financial interests, which you can do by following these safety steps and injury documentation tips.
Seeking Authorized Professional Medical Care
In many states, injured workers need to seek medical care from a doctor, specialist, or healthcare facility approved and “authorized” by employers or their workers’ compensation insurance providers. If you’re in one of these states, adhere to the rules to ensure your employer’s policy will kick in and you won’t have to pay out of pocket.
An exception is if you’re in a “true emergency” scenario (e.g., you have a life-threatening injury). In this case, you can go to the nearest emergency department for life-saving care.
Reporting the Incident to Your Superior or Employer
One of the most crucial workers’ comp claim and wage replacement steps to adhere to is filing an incident report as soon as possible. While the length of time you have to report your injury to your supervisor or employer depends on your state, the best practice is to do so immediately after the incident.
The sooner you do, the sooner your employer can file a claim with their workers’ comp provider, and the sooner the insurer can begin their investigation and the claims process.
Keeping Detailed Injury Records
Maintaining detailed, well-organized records of anything related to your injury is crucial to protecting your income because it provides you with supporting evidence. You can use your records and documentation to:
- Establish proof of all your lost wages
- Demonstrate how your injury has resulted in reduced earning capacity
- Have a more accurate calculation of your losses
- Protect yourself from bad faith insurance practices (e.g., denying, disputing, or undervaluing a claim)
Seeking Legal Injury Claim Assistance
Many workplace injuries arise from simple causes (e.g., improper lifting or repetitive strain). Some, however, aren’t as straightforward, such as in cases in which employers aren’t the only ones at fault. Unsafe general contractors and faulty equipment may also be to blame, as pointed out by Thompson Law Phoenix injury lawyers.
If you believe your workplace injury is a result of a combination of these factors and negligent parties, reach out to a personal injury lawyer. They can help ascertain all parties that could share the blame, allowing you to pursue compensation beyond your workers’ comp benefits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Lose Your Job Due to a Workplace Injury?
Yes. It’s possible to lose your job due to a workplace injury.
You can legally lose your job if your long-term injury is interfering with your job performance, and there isn’t any other position that your employer can transfer you to.
The same is true if your employer has already provided all reasonable accommodations (e.g., modifying your duties, reassigning you to a vacant position you qualify for, or giving you access to specialized equipment). If they’ve exhausted all these options and your injury still interferes with your ability to perform essential work functions, they can choose to let you go.
You should also know that workplace injuries resulting from a worker’s own negligence or recklessness can be grounds for termination.
Can Your Employer Fire You for Filing a Workers’ Comp Claim?
No. Your employer cannot fire you solely because you filed a workers’ compensation claim following an injury on the job. If they do this, they’re breaking the law, as it’s a form of retaliation.
Protect Your Interests After a Workplace Injury
A workplace injury can be devastating, forcing you to miss work, causing you pain and suffering, and draining your budget. Following all critical steps for filing a workers’ compensation claim is therefore crucial, as the benefits you receive can provide you with the medical and financial support you need to recover.
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