Working as a firefighter these days is a risky occupation as more and more fires break out unexpectedly than has ever been known in recent history. The sorts of injuries can be serious burns that may need months of treatment and an even longer recovery time. If you have been injured in an accident while at work as a firefighter and your injury requires medical treatment and recovery time before you can return to work you may be entitled to workers’ compensation. A successful workers’ compensation claim will pay some of your weekly wage, all of your medical treatment and any costs required for rehabilitation. What to Do Before Filing for Workers’ Compensation When you are injured as a firefighter you must seek medical treatment as quickly as possible. The next thing to do is report your firefighter accident to your supervisor or employer. It is vital that you do this as soon as possible because if you are too slow when reporting the accident your employer may not believe you when you said it took place at work. Filing Your Workers’ Compensation Report When your employer receives your accident report, you will be required to complete the filling in of a form. You must include with that form any documents you do have that prove that your firefighter accident happened while you were working as a firefighter. This could include some or all of the following: your physician’s diagnosis, treatment and expected recovery time. written reports put together by reliable eye witnesses who all agree that the accident took place while you were performing firefighter duties; receipts for medical treatment you have received and already paid for; photos taken by you or other firefighters who were at the scene of the accident; live video-cam footage which reveals clearly where, when and how the accident took place (if available). When you have finished the form filling and all the evidence you have has been attached, you should hand in the form to your employer who will then forward it on to its workers’ comp. insurer. If after a long time you haven’t heard any more from your employer regarding your WC claim you should begin to think about contacting your closest workers’ comp. office. One of their officers will be given the responsibility to look into how your WC claim is progressing and s/he will contact your employer. After You File Your Workers’ Compensation Report It is highly unlikely that your employer’s WC insurer will instantly agree with your WC claim but it is quite likely that it will carry out its own individual investigation before any firm decision is made in relation to your WC claim. It is quite a common occurrence for WC claims to be denied by insurers despite relevant evidence being provided with the claim. You don’t need to get too worried as soon as you hear your WC claim has been denied as you can file an appeal regarding your denial by contacting your local Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. When the appeal hearing takes place the judge appointed to hear it will arrive at a decision and will let your employer’s WC insurer know the outcome. 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.
