Many times when workers suffer injuries on the job, they tend to focus on the most severe injury and forget to report the other body parts that were injured. No matter how minor your injuries are, you should ALWAYS report every symptom you experience to the first doctor who examines you. Many times an injury that occurs in one area can affect another area of your body. Lets say you suffer a back injury, the nerve pain and damage can cause you to have problems in your legs. Additionally, your injury symptoms might not become apparent until days or weeks after the accident occurred. Without proper medical treatment, your injury symptoms can become worse over time and might end up requiring additional medical treatment. That’s why it’s vital to tell your doctor of all the body parts that were affected. If you do not tell them of all the body parts that were affected or hurt, the insurance carrier will likely not cover that body part. Without proper documentation from a doctor, it is very difficult to convince a Commissioner or insurance carrier that another part of your body was also injured in the same accident.
Filing An Injury Report is Important!!!!
When filling out your accident report, workers comp claim form, or any forms you are given at the hospital or medical visit, it is important to remember that everything you include can impact your claim for benefits. It’s important to write down every single body part that is hurt, aching, bruised or swollen even if you think it’s minor. All too often we see emergency visit reports where injuries and certain body parts are left out or not properly documented. Although hospitals do make mistakes and sometimes aren’t able to document every injury with 100% accuracy, insurance carriers will still try to discredit your injury if it lacks the necessary documentation. Check your injury report to see how the accident occurred is documented and that all of the injuries you suffered have been clearly described. Make sure to tell the medical professionals examining you about every ache, pain, and any discomfort you are feeling after your accident.