Take Notes - Your Workers Comp Claim Depends on it

The Importance of Properly Documenting Your Workplace Injuries

By: Michael Gorny, Esq.

In a recent survey of small business employers, 1 in 4 have installed surveillance cameras to monitor their employees and 13 percent are concerned that one of their employees would commit workers’ compensation fraud by faking an injury. Workers’ Compensation fraud is an issue that not only negatively affects employers victimized by the fraud, but also causes a ripple effect on employees who are actually injured on the job, by raising the scrutiny by insurance companies on all claims.

When asked what they felt were indicators of insurance fraud, the most common responses by employers included a lack of witnesses to the injury, delay in reporting the injury, history of claims, and the report of injury coincides with a change of employment status. While you cannot control when and where an injury occurs, you can take steps to help protect yourself from an investigation for insurance fraud. First, you must report any incidents immediately, whether or not you believe you are seriously injured. Sometimes injuries have a delayed impact and do not reveal their extent until well after the incident takes place. Second, always try to have co-workers in the area, to increase the likelihood that they will see any injuries to help support your claim.

Consulting with an attorney immediately after an incident occurs can also help your claim – an attorney experienced with workers’ compensation claims can provide an outside perspective on your claim and advise you on steps you may need to take in order to protect your claim.

If you have questions about your own workplace injury, and what workers' compensation you're entitled to, call Simon Law Group today at 1-800-709-1131 and speak with a NJ Workers Compensation Attorney.