If you work as carpenter you are in a trade that frequently has accidents and if you are one of the unlucky ones to be in this situation, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation. Working as a carpenter involves handling a great variety of tools such as saws, drills, sanders and planers which means you could be inflicted with a serious injury with one of these potential hazards. If you are eligible for WC your medical treatment should be paid, a proportion of your weekly wage and the cost of rehabilitation if it is required before you go back to work to resume your job as a carpenter. What to Do Before Filing for Workers’ Compensation You should of course get all the important medical treatment then report your accident and injury to your carpentry company’s supervisor or employer as quickly as you can. If you get your WC claim in quickly your claim will be processed and you will be able to benefit from the regular payments. However, if you don’t submit a report as soon as possible your carpentry company and its workers’ compensation insurer may not believe you when you tell them the accident took place at work. Filing Your Workers’ Compensation Report When the report concerning your carpentry accident has been received your employer will ask you to fill out a form. With this form you should provide documents that prove where and when the carpentry accident took place. This could include all or any of the following details: eye witnesses’ written reports, which prove your injury happened while working as a carpenter; photographs taken by you or other carpenters who saw the accident; receipts for medical treatment already paid for; surveillance camera footage showing the accident taking place (if available); your doctor’s diagnosis and likely treatment time. When you have finished filling in the form and all the evidence has been included you should give the form to your employer who should then send it to its worker’s comp. insurer. If after a while your employer has not responded to your demand for worker’s compensation, you should think about contacting your nearest workers’ comp. office. One of their officers will be assigned to your WC claim and s/he will contact your employer and try to get a response. After You File Your Workers’ Compensation Report Your carpentry business’s WC insurer will not instantly pay your WC claim but it will want to pursue its own investigation into the accident. This includes appraising the evidence that has been provided which supports that the accident and injury took place while you were working as a carpenter. It is common for WC insurers to deny claims based on insufficient evidence that is supposed to prove the accident occurred while you were at work as a carpenter. If you have had your WC claim denied you should contact your local Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to file an appeal. The appeal’s hearing will take place and the judge will hear the case and tell the employer’s WC insurer to pay your WC as long as your claim is valid. Contact a Workers’ Comp Lawyer Because workers’ comp. claims are never easy to win it is a good idea to seek help from an attorney who can help you get your claim on the right track. Additional Resources Injured On The Job as a Carpenter? I'm An Injured Carpenter. What Should My WC Claim Be Worth?
