If you are an Oklahoma worker and have been injured on the job, it can be difficult to determine what to do and when to do it to protect your rights. However, you must take action to ensure your injury won’t cause you, your family, or your career any unnecessary damage.
What To Do After You Are Injured on the Job in Oklahoma:
1. Obtain immediate treatment for your injury.
2. Contact your employer or the employer’s insurance company as soon as possible after an accidental workplace injury. The company/carrier may provide benefits voluntarily.
3. File the required forms to provide notification of the injury with the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission.
4. Document your injury and the overall incident, including location and witnesses.
5. Seek help from an experienced workers’ compensation attorney and file a claim for compensation with the Commission.
6. Follow through with treatment as prescribed by your consulting physician.
7. Stay in touch with your Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation attorney.
8. Advise your attorney of any contact, documents received, etc., regarding the claim.
9. Be available for any required meetings, hearings, or conferences.
Why Work with a Workers’ Compensation Attorney for your Oklahoma Claim?
Most workers’ compensation claims are denied the first time they are filed. Insurance carriers are betting that most workers filing claims won’t appeal, and they’re usually right. Working with a workers’ compensation attorney when filing your Oklahoma workers’ compensation claim and, if it is denied, appealing the denied claim means you have the best chance of receiving fair compensation for your injury or illness.
The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Process:
In addition to protecting you from tactics commonly used by insurance carriers to minimize the cost of workers’ compensation claims, working with an experienced workers’ comp attorney can help avoid delays in the potentially complicated claims process. From the time you notify your employer or their insurance carrier of the incident, your employer has experienced professionals working on the claim. Still, those experienced professionals work for the company’s insurance carrier, whose best interests are served by denying claims or minimizing the payout for claims. The Commission provides mediation services accessible to anyone filing a workers’ compensation claim, but mediation services aim to reach a resolution. The mediator is a guide between the two parties, not an advocate for either party. Obtaining experienced counsel of your own equalizes the situation and ensures that your need to be compensated for your injury is not minimized, overlooked, or denied without cause.
If you have been injured on the job, get in touch with Armstrong & Vaught P.L.C., Tulsa’s Premier Workers’ Compensation, Employment, and Social Security Law Firm. We have the experience you need on your side.