About Jewel Caraway

Injuries that are suffered on the job can prevent you from returning to work in order to support yourself and your family. This is precisely why the law requires virtually all employers to provide injured employees with workers compensation benefits. Unfortunately, far too many workers will either fail to be aware of these benefits or fail to apply for these benefits simply because they do not believe they will qualify. Taking the time to review the facts below can help to prevent you from making this same mistake if you have recently been injured on the job.

Injuries Can Result From Repetitive Motion

When most people think of on-the-job injuries, they tend to think of an accident which directly results in injury. However, not all work-related injuries occur in this manner. In fact, a large portion of on-the-job injuries actually occur over time rather than being the result of a single incident. In many cases, this type of long term injury will be the result of repetitive motion. For instance, if your job requires you to do a considerable amount of typing each day, the development of carpal tunnel syndrome may be considered a work related injury since it was caused by the repetitive motion of typing for hours each day.

Proving an injury is the result of performing your job duties each day can be difficult. This is especially true if activities in your personal life could also be to blame for your long-term injuries. Consequently, it is always best to consult a workers compensation attorney before pursuing a workers comp claim for this type of injury.

Immediate Reporting Is Not Necessary

Another common belief among injured workers is that they will not qualify for workers compensation benefits if they fail to report their injuries right away. However, the truth is, there is no law mandating that work related injuries are reported at the time they occur. In fact, it is quite common for injured workers to wait several days or longer to report an on-the-job injury. In many cases, this will be due to the fact that it can take a significant amount of time for injuries to fully present themselves.

While there may not be a law requiring you to report an injury the day that it happens, there are still time limits associated with your right to file a workers compensation claim. This time limit is known as a statute of limitation and will dictate how long you have to file a claim after being injured on the job. Therefore, you should always notify your employer and contact a workers compensation attorney as soon as possible after discovering that you have been injured on the job.