On behalf of Castrodale Law, LLC on Wednesday, December 12, 2018.
An injury at work that has left you in recovery instead of being at your post can be daunting. Instead of your usual routine of being productive at work day-in and day-out, you may now feel uneasy that you are not with your co-workers and accomplishing your expected duties.
If you are in this situation, the way your employer interacts and treats you during this time can have a real impact on you. If your employer has simply turned everything that happened with your injury over for insurance and does not stay in touch with you, it can feel like you have been discarded.
It will be your responsibility to stay on top of all the work involved in your workers’ compensation claim. However, if your employer wants to protect employees from becoming disgruntled while away from work due to an injury, here are some things they should be doing.
Confirm you are receiving benefits – It is the responsibility of your employer to provide payroll information to the insurance carrier. They should do this immediately and then get confirmation that the benefits will be received on time.
Keep in contact with you – Staying in touch with work is important when you are not there. If provides a feeling that it is understood why you are not there and can also keep you in the know of everything that is going on. For these reasons, it would be best if you are contacted by someone with whom you know at work and not just a random person from HR. It should also be important to them to keep up with your health status and how you are progressing.
Talk post-injury schedule with you – Whether it be a discussion about returning to handle light or modified work duty or coming back full-strength, both you and your employer should be clear with each other about a return to work and what your duties will be.
Be involved in discussions with the adjuster – If you are speaking with your employer about any problems you are dealing with in your workers’ compensation and they pass you off to speak directly to the insurance company, they are not being there for you. Even though you need to be in charge of your own claim, it should not be something that makes your employer become adversarial. If you see this type of behavior from the start, be prepared for a rough ride.
Your workers’ compensation case is something that will be very important to you and may affect how you will perform your work from that point on. Receiving support from your employer can play a big part for you emotionally as you go through the experience. If you are concerned about your workers’ compensation claim, you should speak with a knowledgeable attorney who can work for your rights.