I work at a hardware store and hurt my back lifting a bag of concrete. It was a slipped disk. The doctor gave me a note that says I can go back but not lift anything but I cant really afford the medical bill I just got and I feel they should be responsible for that and my time lost.
2007-05-14 05:35:56 · 7 answers · asked by solangenes 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
You don't need to sue. If you are in the US, you should be covered by worker's comp. Did you file an incident report when the injury occurred? I don't know how long you have to file from the date of injury, but if the injury occurred in the process of doing your normally assigned job responsibilities, the medical expenses should all be covered.
2007-05-14 05:40:42 · answer #1 · answered by jurydoc 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because I've administered workers comp, here are some key points you need to be aware of.
Did you report the injury at the time it occurred or did you go to your own doctor instead? If you went to your own doctor, the company may not be obligated to pay for the treatment.
So, if you have not yet reported this a a worker's comp injury, you need to do it. TODAY. Otherwise, you will have a hard time proving that this is work related. Because back injuries typically are cumulative trauma injuries (usually several things will trigger the injury), a good defense attorney will argue that the injury was not 100% caused by the job, but by other factors.
2007-05-14 06:17:04 · answer #2 · answered by Searcher 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's always workers compensation.
Humm. You did file an accident report with your employer for him/her to submit to their insurance carrier? Your employer knows of the cause of your back injury? You are not responsible for bills relating to an an injury which occurred on the job. Your employer is required by law to carry insurance. The insurance carrier pays your medical bills.
How much time did you lose from work? a week, two weeks? You may also be entitled to temporary disability benefits. (usually around 70 percent of your salary)
I am thinking that the hardware store is a small business. So you don't necessarily have a so-called "personnel office"?
Then your supervisor or owner has an obligation to report your accident to the store's insurance carrier to assure that you are able to obtain the benefits you are entitled to.
good luck
2007-05-14 05:56:51 · answer #3 · answered by rare2findd 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ask for worker's compensation for your injury. You dont need to sue you just need your doctor's bill plus any other expenses related to this injury put on the hardware store's workers compensation. Every company pays into workers compensation so that if a worker is injured the expensive is covered. Tell your employer about the injury and give them the bill for your doctor's visit.
2007-05-14 06:20:40 · answer #4 · answered by Educated 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why not use your short term disability?
Have you even spoken to them? You shouldnt have to sue for this, they should be paying for it assuming you arent on drugs and were folling their guidelines for lifting.
2007-05-14 05:41:15 · answer #5 · answered by Showtunes 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
File a workers comp claim -- that's why companies have workers comp insurance.
2007-05-14 05:41:00 · answer #6 · answered by Susie D 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That is why they pay workmans comp.
2007-05-14 05:40:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋