When you are hurt on the job, you will experience several levels of trauma. First, you will have to deal with the physical pain of the injury. Next, you have to deal with the financial hit that you will take from not being able to draw a paycheck.
Then comes the psychological trauma that comes from the uncertainty of not knowing when you can get back to work. Therefore, you will need to protect yourself financially in order to manage this stressful situation.
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
The very first thing you should do is seek medical attention. Even if you have experienced a minor workplace injury, you will not know the extent of the damage until you have a medical professional examine you. For instance, let’s say you fall down and hurt your hand. You might be able to “shake it off” after a few minutes.
However, you may not be aware that the injured has caused permanent damage to your tendons or has broken a bone on one of your fingers. If you continue to work with that injured hand, you could cause permanent damage. Be sure to have a medical professional examine any injury in the workplace to ensure that you can be properly compensated.
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Seek a Top Personal Injury Lawyer
Once you have been hurt on the job, it is important that you immediately contact a personal injury lawyer. These legal professionals have experience in your type of case. A personal injury lawyer can provide guidance to get the proper compensation that you deserve.
Also, a personal injury lawyer can help protect you from your employer’s attempts to downplay the injury, refuse compensation, or attempt any retaliatory measures. As an example, let’s say you work at a warehouse and a piece of the inventory falls off a shelf and lands on you.
Your employer may insist that you were being unsafe on the job. Right after you seek medical attention, search for a personal injury lawyer who will be able to carefully examine the details of the incident and your employer’s safety practices.
Note that you will want to search for a lawyer in your local area as they will know best how to handle your case within your state and community. For example, if you live in Houston, you may want to do a Google search for “Houston personal injury lawyer” and research the different lawyers that come up in the search results.
Know your Financial Obligations
After you are injured, you will be sidelined for a period of time. Sadly, your not working does not stop the bills from coming in. Therefore, you will want to know what important bills are due and how you will be able to pay them. Some of your creditors may be able to push back payments because of your workplace injury. Other creditors won’t allow you such a luxury. Therefore, you will want to contact each creditor to work things out before the bill’s deadline passes.
Budget the Money That You Have
It is a smart idea to know the money that you have in your possession and the money that you will have coming in. This will allow you to pay for your most important bills and have the money left over for your everyday needs. Also, be sure to set aside any emergency money that you may need in case something unexpected pops up.
Also, don’t count on any money that you think is going to come from a settlement with your employer. That money is not guaranteed and could be delayed. The only budget with the money that you know for sure is going to be in your possession.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Finally, you will want to know everything this is about your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. This is the insurance policy that will pay you for your injuries. Your business should have workers’ compensation insurance with enough coverage to properly pay you for your injury.
However, you will want to make sure that the coverage is up to date. Your personal injury lawyer can assist you in finding out exactly what coverage your employers offer. Getting hurt on the job can become one of the most trying times in your life. This incident is compounded by the fact that you will be pressed for money.
Be proactive and learn how to protect yourself financially. See a medical professional after your injury, retain a top personal injury lawyer, contact your creditors, budget your money, and know your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance.