Don’t Be Afraid to Report a Work Injury

Good morning! This is Legal Tip Tuesday with Michael Quatrini.

I’m going to talk a little bit about the fear some injured workers have after they’ve sustained a work injury. For so many of you, you’re hard at work, never miss a day, don’t want to complain about the things that happen at your job. But, when you actually sustain a work injury, sometimes it can be intimidating to report that something happened. This is because your employer may put a really big emphasis on the fact that we haven’t had any injuries in so many days and we don’t want to break that streak, Right Carl? Or, Right Sally? Well, that’s unfair to you that if you are injured, so much for their streak, it’s your right to report your injury and obtain benefits for any of the conditions that are work related.

The other intimidation is simply this: let’s say I’m injured at work and I work for a very large national company. How am I, this small injured worker, going to be able to take on this huge company to get my benefits? Well, in Pennsylvania that’s why we have the Workers’ Compensation System. That’s why we have Workers’ Compensation insurance. You’re entitled to file a claim in the Workers’ Compensation system and obtain benefits regardless of whether you have a big company or a small company. This provides you the protection that you are entitled to your lost wages or medical benefits, to be heard by a judge, and to be represented by an attorney while you’re doing it.

Again, when injured at work it can be very intimidating to file a claim. If you’re having some of the nervousness or you’re not sure what to do after being injured at work, why don’t you give us a call, sit down for a free consultation, and we’ll help you understand the system, and what your rights would or should be after a work injury.

This is Michael Quatrini. Legal Tip Tuesday. Have a great week.