You were just injured at work. Why waiting to see how you feel before reporting it can cost you.

At some point in our careers, most of us have been injured on the job. Often, it’s nothing at all. Minor cuts, scrapes, slips and falls, strains, fender benders in traffic, etc. We regularly don’t give these issues much thought as we go about our day but on occasion the injury can be more severe than we thought. Waiting to report a workplace injury is the worst thing you can do in this situation and may even lead to denial of Workers Compensation benefits. If you have been injured on the job, do not wait to report it.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I SHOULD REPORT MY INJURY OR ACCIDENT?

If you have experienced a minor injury that requires any type of first aid by yourself, or others. Or if an event occurred that causes you to break your stride in the task you were performing more than just a brief stop to see if you are okay then it needs to be reported.

WHO DO I REPORT MY WORKPLACE INJURY TO AND HOW DO I REPORT IT?

Report your injury to your supervisor immediately. You will need to complete an accident report with your supervisor and submit this information to your regional Human Resources contact within 24 hours.

WHY DO I HAVE SO LITTLE TIME TO REPORT MY INJURY?

The best outcomes and most complete injury recoveries are seen with prompt medical attention.

Depending on the state you are employed in you may have as little as 7 days to report your injury. Even if it has been longer than 7 days, report your injury as soon as possible.

APG requires all workplace injuries to be reported to the Human Resources department within 24 hours. We want you to receive prompt treatment and the only thing worse than an employee injured at work is additional injured employees due to an unsafe condition that could have been prevented.

I’M CONCERNED ABOUT MEDICAL BILLS.

If you have reported your injury promptly, most instances of employees receiving medical billing for workers compensation claims are usually due to not providing your claim information to your medical provider for proper insurance billing. Understandably, this information is not always available early in the treatment process. If you receive medical bills for your treatment, be sure to inform your medical provider’s billing department of your claim number and claim information or contact your assigned claim adjuster or your HR contact so it can be resolved quickly.

One of the more common things we hear is “I’ve never had a workers compensation claim before”. While the Workers Compensation claims process is new to most of us it’s not something you have to navigate alone. APG is here to help.