Perhaps you were utilizing your company’s heavy machinery when you faced an insignificant injury. You worked within the scope of your employment, you utilized the equipment correctly, but an accident caused you to need a quick doctor’s visit to ensure that your injury was not severe. After x-rays, doctors determine that the injury’s effects proved minor, and you can return to your position.
Because the doctor decided that your injury did not need further analysis, you decided not to tell your employer. Unfortunately, two years after the incident, you begin to feel recurring pain, you have lost full mobility in the area, and you need to take frequent vacation days to rest. Now, you want to file a workers’ compensation claim against your employer’s insurance to pay for your associated medical costs and loss of work.
You may be too late. A statute of limitations exists for New Jersey compensation claims, and if you do not file within two years of your injury, you may not have the ability to regain any medical expenses due to your injury, even though it happened during employment.
Reporting your injury immediately to your employer is a crucial step in receiving compensation for your injury. Even if the injury is minor, you want to explain the scenario to your employer as soon as possible. Because you worked within the scope of your employment, your initial medical expenses may see reimbursement, and your employer will have documentation of the incident.
After reporting the injury to your employer, you want to contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to aid you in receiving compensation. A court will find that you performed your usual job duties when you received the injury, and your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance will likely reimburse you for your associated expenses.
Not reporting your injury quickly or filing a workers’ compensation claim within two years after your accident could leave you in substantial medical debt if you cannot receive reimbursement from your employer. Your employer holds the insurance specifically to help injured employees, and you must immediately record your injury and file a claim for your deserved expenses.