There are a lot of articles about what to do if you are injured at work. However, you don’t see many articles about what “not” to do. So without further delay, if as an injured worker you want to skrew up your claim beyond repair, perform items 1 through 5 and you’ll be well on your way:
- Don’t report the incident. Besides, everybody at your job is busy and you don’t want to stir something up by bothering them.
- Wait to go to the doctor. There’s no need to rush. Surely your hurt back will feel better in a week or 2. Heck, while you’re at it, why not give it a month before you go just to make sure you’re really hurt.
- Tell the doctor you’re fine. When you do make it to the doctor, just tell him that you’re basically ok and just need some pain pills. After all, nobody likes a whiner.
- Speak freely to the insurance adjuster no matter what. The claims adjuster assigned to your case is just doing her job. There is no reason not to tell her everything, answer every question she asks, and also, make sure it’s recorded.
- File a hearing request without the assistance of a lawyer. Surely you don’t need a lawyer. Go ahead and have your hearing, and then, if you lose, see if an attorney can fix it at that point.
