Suffering an injury at work is more than an inconvenience. It can seriously impact your financial well-being and your ability to work in the future. Fully recovering from the damage could be crucial to your career, but you may not know where to begin with a potential workers’ compensation claim.
If you were hurt on the job in New York, what are the responsibilities of your employer? What should you do next? Is a personal injury claim ever an option? There are many questions that you may have, and you deserve answers and honest guidance during this time. After an accident at work, you would be wise to secure legal help as soon as possible.
What is the role of your employer?
Most employers have the legal requirement of carrying workers’ compensation benefits. This provides protection for both the employee and the employer in case of a work-related accident. If you suffered an injury while on the job, the following are things you need to know about what your employer must do with your workers’ comp claim:
- Your employer cannot deny you medical care.
- Your employer cannot unnecessarily delay or refuse your workers’ compensation claim.
- Your employer cannot ask you to lie or provide incorrect information about the nature of your accident.
If an employer fails in his or her obligation to provide workers’ compensation insurance when required by law, he or she could be subject to various fines, criminal penalties and civil claims filed on behalf of injured workers.
Can I sue my employer?
In certain cases, it may be appropriate to bring a personal injury claim against your employer after a workplace accident. This would be a reasonable course of action for you if you suffered because of extreme negligence, your employer’s failure to carry workers’ compensation insurance and other rare but serious circumstances.
In most cases, individuals injured on the job would not be able to sue their employer in addition to or instead of a workers’ compensation claim. If extreme circumstances resulted in your accident and injury, you would be wise to speak with an attorney regarding the potential legal options available to you.
Navigating the claims process
The workers’ compensation process is not easy to navigate, and you may find it beneficial to seek the counsel and guidance of an experienced attorney when pursing workers’ comp benefits. Your full recovery is crucial to your future, and your legal ally can fight to maximize your benefits and ensure the full protection of your rights.