If you get hurt on the job, go get medical treatment. Do it as soon as possible. Don’t try to tough it out. Don’t put it off. Just go get the treatment that you need.
The first reason for this, of course, is that you don’t know the scope of the injury. It could be worse than you think. You never want to take a risk with your health. Your chances of a full recovery are best if you head in for treatment right away. Do not deny yourself that chance.
On top of that, though, you want to think about workers’ compensation. If you’re going to miss time at work and have those high medical bills, you may need compensation for your costs. You were hurt on the job, after all.
However, one of the reasons that workers’ comp gets denied is that the worker never got treatment. You can explain the pain you’re having or how it relates to the injury, but your employer may not even believe you if you never went to the doctor.
You need that paperwork to back up your claim. It’s one thing to say that your back hurts, you can’t work and you want compensation. It’s quite another to have charts showing that you were diagnosed with a serious spinal injury, you got treatment and it’s going to take months to heal. That documentation gives your claim validity and helps you get the compensation you deserve.
Of course, if you make a claim and it gets denied for any reason, make sure you fully understand all of the options you still have at your disposal.
