File Your Workers' Compensation Claim

Although it is impossible to know exactly how many potential workers' compensation claims go unfiled, current estimates put the figure at between one-third and one-half of all work-related injuries. There are many reasons why workers choose not to file, but in the end, none of them overwhelm the basic reason to file: the workers' compensation system is set up for everyone's benefit, and by filing, you help not only yourself, but others.

Fear of Reprisal

Some employees are afraid to file workers' compensation claims because they are afraid their employer will retaliate, but Michigan law protects workers who exercise their rights from retaliatory action by employers. If you file a workers' compensation claim, you are protected from anything that can be interpreted as retaliatory action, including closer supervision, extra duties, and harsher penalties for misconduct. And, of course, you cannot be fired from your job for filing a workers' compensation claim. In addition, you are protected from any form of reprisals in future employment as well. No employer can refuse to hire you or terminate you for filing a workers' compensation claim at a previous job. In addition, you can also take advantage of protection provided for whistleblowers if your injury exposes dangerous conditions or violations of state law.

Paradoxically, not filing a claim puts you at more risk. If you don't file a claim, you have no way to explain your decrease in productivity caused by pain, loss of function, or the anxiety and distraction that can follow injury. If fear of reprisal has made you hesitate to file your claim, talking with a workers' compensation lawyer can help you understand the full scope of your protection.

It's Just a Scratch

Another reason why people don't file workers' compensation claims is that they think their injury is not severe enough. But the truth is that you rarely know how serious your injury is until it is completely healed. Your injury may be just a sore shoulder, but what happens when that sore shoulder doesn't heal up, or even gets worse over time? When in doubt, it's best to start the claim process--your benefits will only be proportionate to your injury, so there's no reason not to file. And a workers' compensation claim for a minor injury can call attention to dangerous conditions and lead to their correction before someone else is more seriously hurt.

My Boss Is My Friend /I Don't Want to Hurt the Company

First, think, if your boss is truly your friend, he will want you to be taken care of. One of his first concerns will be that you receive adequate care following your injury so that you can heal up. Second, filing a workers' compensation claim isn't going to hurt the company. Workers' compensation is a system designed to protect both employees and employers from the potentially ruinous effects of on-the-job injuries. Through insurance or other means, the resources to pay for workers' compensation have already been set aside and your claim will not hurt the company. Insurance rates for workers' compensation will not rise significantly unless your claim exposes dangerous conditions, which the company has a responsibility to correct for you and for other workers. On the other hand, not filing your claim may hurt the company. If your productivity goes down as a result of your injury, the cost to the company is likely to be more than it would have ever paid for your claim. And if your productivity goes down, you may put your boss/friend in the difficult position of having to either make excuses for you, putting his own job on the line, or terminate his friend.

If you have received an on-the-job injury, you may come up with many reasons why you shouldn't file a claim, but the truth is that filing a claim is the best thing to do for all involved. To learn more about why you should file your workers' compensation claim, contact the Michigan workers' compensation lawyers at Jay Trucks & Associates, P.C. today.

Lawyers for the Injured
Jay Trucks & Associates, PC
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