Because injuries are at the heart of your non-subscriber workplace injury claim, your medical diagnosis and treatment will play a huge role in the amount of compensation you receive. This is also an area where many injury victims make mistakes in dealing with their doctors and other healthcare providers that can hurt their claims. Here, we discuss common mistakes that employees have made in the past that jeopardized their cases so that you can learn from their errors.
What Are Common Medical Care Errors You DON’T Want to Make?
Unfortunately, when you make a mistake following a workplace injury or illness, this information can often be discovered by the insurance company for your employer as part of the medical records they receive. This can give them further ammunition to deny or reduce your claim. Here are some common costly mistakes:
Not seeing a doctor immediately.
You have the burden of proving that your injuries were caused at work. When you delay seeing a doctor—either because you do not believe you were injured or are trying to tough it out—you raise doubts about whether another incident unrelated to your job caused your injuries. In addition, you are jeopardizing your health because some medical conditions will not become apparent until days or weeks after your injury.
Not following up on medical treatment.
When you do not follow your doctor’s advice on your medical treatment or miss appointments, this shows up in your medical charts. This gives the insurance adjuster an argument that you were not as seriously injured as you claim. In addition, this lack of cooperation can irritate your doctor and other medical care providers, which could result in them being weaker witnesses in your case.
Talking about the job incident with your doctor.
When talking to your doctor or completing a medical form about what caused your injury, be certain to stick to the facts and be careful what you say. This information will be a part of the medical records that could be used against you by the insurance company.
Not being honest about your health history.
If you injured the same body part in another prior incident and your doctor asks about your past medical history, you need to be honest about the prior injury. If you are not truthful, this could hamper your doctor’s ability to treat you and reduce your credibility as a witness significantly.
Not telling your doctor about your pain and limitations.
You need to keep your doctor informed of your level of pain and how it is limiting your movements and ability to perform your day-to-day activities. If you do not tell your doctor about your pain, he cannot treat it or write about it in your medical records. Documentation of this is important to proving the pain and suffering that you are experiencing, your medical prognosis, and whether you can return to your former job.
Stopping treatment too early.
You do not want to stop your treatment until you make a full recovery or your doctor releases you from care. When you stop taking prescribed medications or seeking treatment, your employer’s insurance adjuster will assume that you have healed and should not be entitled to future compensation even if you later must resume your medical care.
Have You Been Injured At Your Texas Job And Your Employer Doesn't Provide Workers' Compensation?
If you've been injured on the job and your employer is non-subscriber you need to speak with an experienced work injury lawyer as soon as possible. Contact us online or call our our Colleyville office directly at 817.485.8888 to schedule your free consultation.
We help injured workers throughout Texas including Arlington, North Richland, Grapevine, Bedford, Hurst, Euless, Irving and all points in between.
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