What should injured workers know about workers’ comp?

When you go to work for the day, you may not anticipate getting hurt and incurring injuries that affect your ability to go back to work and live a normal daily life. But this happens to many workers on a regular basis.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, the workers’ compensation system provides certain benefits to injured workers until they can return to work. If you recently got into a workplace accident and sustained injuries, there are several things you should know about this system.

Available benefits

There are several different types of benefits you can receive through the workers’ compensation system. For example, you can receive payments for lost wages, medical care and specific loss benefits. If you die from the accident, your family could become eligible for death benefits.

Obtaining benefits

To obtain workers’ compensation benefits, you must let your employer know about the injury as soon as possible. If you do not notify your employer promptly, you may become ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

Choosing a health care provider

You can choose the health care provider who will treat your workplace injury. However, if your employer has posted a list of health care providers in your workplace, you must see one of these physicians for your initial treatment. After this first visit, you must receive care from this same provider for a 90-day period.

Although workers’ compensation benefits can help you return to work after a workplace injury, you may find that your claim for benefits gets denied. If this happens to you, take legal steps to protect your right to these benefits.