After any type of workplace accident, it's important that you see a doctor to find out if you sustained an injury. Some injuries can take a few days to start showing symptoms and can get worse over time. Some workplace injuries are serious enough to cause immediate pain and loss of mobility. This is when workers often need an urgent trip to the hospital. Even after an injured worker is discharged from a hospital, he or she may need months of physical therapy, rest and other treatments.
Hospitalizations can happen in any type of job, but they tend to happen the most in physically demanding occupations. This includes:
- Construction
- Warehousing and transportation
- Manufacturing
- Agriculture
- Car mechanics
- Maintenance engineers
- Nurses
- Refuse and recyclable material collectors
- Police and first responders
Types of workplace injuries that require a hospital visit
The following serious workplace injuries often send workers' to the hospital for either trauma care or emergency room treatment:
- Bone fractures
- Serious head injuries and loss of consciousness
- Puncture wounds
- Deep lacerations
- Crushed limbs
- Amputations
- Severe burns
- Difficulty breathing
- Heart attack or stroke
- Carbon dioxide poisoning
- Injuries to vital internal organs
Serious injuries like these often require emergency surgery, blood transfusions, providing oxygen and treatment for pain.
In addition, injured workers may need to undergo months of physical therapy, pain management, rest and possibly additional surgery. During that time, injured workers will need time off from work and to avoid certain activities.
Compensation for your medical treatment
Your workplace injury will cost you in mounting medical expenses and lost wages. Fortunately, you have the right to pursue compensation to cover these losses. New York workers' compensation is a no-fault system that offers financial benefits to injured workers. It covers medical costs accrued from workplace injuries and reimburses injured workers for time lost at work. It also pays for disability benefits for workers who become partially or permanently disabled due to their injuries.
It's critical that you follow these steps after a workplace accident:
- Seek immediate medical help. Call 911 or seek urgent care for severe or life-threatening injuries.
- Notify your employer that you were injured as soon as possible. You may do so immediately or in writing days later.
- Notify the New York State Workers' Compensation Board of your injury by filling out a C-3 form.
- Get a medical evaluation from your primary care physician.
- Speak to an experienced workers' compensation attorney who can help you pursue a claim.
Workers' compensation claims are far too complex to handle on your own. The paperwork involved can often be confusing, especially for those filing it out for the first time. In addition, the insurance companies responsible for issuing workers' compensation benefits are more concerned about saving money than ensuring that injured workers are compensated for their losses. Any errors in your claim can result in your benefits being delayed or denied.
The legal team at Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano LLP Attorneys At Law has more than 80 years of experience representing injured workers and helping them get the benefits they deserve. We have law offices conveniently located throughout NYC and across New York State. Contact us online to get started on your claim.