Working in a retail environment may be a good way to get the money you need to live. However, it can also be very stressful. If you work for a retail establishment, such as Macy’s, what would you do if you were hurt during your shift? What if the injury was so bad that you couldn’t work? Think about your bills each month. How would they get paid? An on the job injury can quickly turn into a financial nightmare. Workers’ Compensation: A Safety Net for Workers The good news is that there is a legal safety net put into place for workers. Each state requires most employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance. It is provided to employees without cost. If you are hurt or made sick because of your work environment, workers’ comp may help you take care of your medical expenses, prescriptions, surgeries, and it can also provide a portion of your wage. Risks Posed to Macy’s Employees Macy’s offers many types of opportunities for work including sales, merchandising, warehouse work, and jobs in the legal and HR department that are primarily clerical in nature (among many other positions). Depending on the responsibilities of the Macy’s employee, there are some special risks involved. Those who work in Macy’s warehouses run the risk of injury to their neck, back, or shoulders from moving heavy products. Broken bottles of liquid makeup, perfume, and other liquids can also put you at risk for a slip and fall. Sales workers could be injured while moving heavy goods for customers. They could fall from a ladder while they are getting products from a high shelf. A slip and fall can cause sales associates to suffer from sprains, broken bones, or even a head injury. Employees who do a lot of typing also have specific risks. Mail processing, even with the use of machines, can cause repetitive stress injury as can continuous years of typing. While this isn’t an all-inclusive list of risks faced by Macy’s employees, you can find out more about specific injuries while at Macy's by taking a look these pages: Preparing a Claim Against Macy's Workers' Compensation for a Pinched Nerve at Macy's How to Protect Your Legal Rights If you are hurt on the job at Macy’s, you need to protect your legal rights. Follow these four steps. Stop what you’re doing. Don’t wait until the end of your shift to tell your supervisor. If you’ve hit your head or injured your back, waiting until the end of your shift can make it worse. Your supervisor needs to know right away. Telling your supervisor right away protects you and it also protects your coworkers. Whatever hurt you can be addressed right away to protect other people. Talk with your manager or HR rep and complete an accident report. It’s much easier to clearly document what led up to your injury right after it happens than to wait. If you have a medical emergency, such as hitting your head on a counter or the floor, call 911. The police will send out an officer who will take a report. They will provide a report number. You can get a report number that you can use to get a copy of your accident report. You need to get medical care. If you have a medical emergency, call 911. For sprains or minor injuries, you can talk with your HR representative about your options. Workers’ compensation insurance policies list a doctor that you may be able to see at no cost to you once your workers’ compensation claim is filed. You can choose to see your own doctor, too. However, you may have to pay for that visit. Keep any receipts for doctor’s appointments, prescriptions, and other expenses to treat your on the job injury; you may be able to receive reimbursement. Call a workers’ compensation attorney. No matter how long you’ve been employed with Macy’s, their workers’ compensation insurance adjustor isn’t looking out for your best interest. Do not sign anything without first talking to an attorney. The Claims Process Even though companies like Macy’s have their own workers’ compensation insurance arrangements with a commercial insurance carrier, the process of making a claim is determined by the state’s own workers’ compensation laws and department or agency. If you are injured in an accident at Macy’s then you need to follow the procedure carefully to avoid having your claim rejected. As soon as you can after getting treatment or seeing a doctor, you should make sure your immediate supervisor at Macy’s knows about your injury. The injury should be recorded officially by your employer. This record will be important when it comes to determining when payments start and that the injury happened at work and not somewhere else. The state determines how long you have to inform your employer about the accident, usually a week or two. Before getting treatment find out if Macy’s insurer has a preferred doctor and / or medical provider. Some insurers insist on using providers from their own network. Others leave it to you to choose. If it is an emergency, it won’t matter which emergency department you are taken to, but you may be transferred for further treatment to a preferred provider later. One of the main reasons why claims are denied is that insurers are not convinced that an injury happened at work or developed because of conditions at work. If you can, obtain evidence that an injury was work related, such as statements from other employees who may have seen or assisted at an accident. You should be entitled to be paid for all injury related medical expenses, but to avoid being paid too little, you will need to collect as much documentation as possible showing the status of your injury and how much it has cost to treat it. Each state determines when a claim should be filed by. Usually, this is two to three years from the date of the injury. Average Settlement Against Macy’s There are a variety of possible workplace injuries that could occur while working at Macy’s. Many accidents are trip and fall or slip and fall accidents. Broken bones, dislocated joints, bruises and cuts are the most common injuries. Employees who work in the storeroom or warehouse and are responsible for unloading goods and delivering them to the store may suffer back strain, crushing injuries and The following is an example of a typical average Macy’s workers’ compensation claim and settlement. A trip and fall injury occurs when an employee falls over exiting an elevator carrying store goods. The employee smashes his face on the floor as he hits the ground with lacerations to the face, mild concussion. He is taken to a hospital for a check-up and treatment. He receives medication, bandaging, scans to determine whether there was any serious damage to his skull and brain. He remains off work while recovering for two weeks before his doctor advises that he is fit enough to return to work. As a sales assistant at Macy’s, his normal hourly wage is $9.30 and his shift is 36 hours per week. His claim for lost earnings is accepted by the insurer, calculated as follows: $9.30 x 36 (hours per week) x 2 (no. of weeks of work) x 0.66 (percentage of earnings as mandated by state WC rules) = $442. In addition, he submits a claim for medical expenses of $4,450. This was broken down into the following: Ambulance to nearest ER: $640 including mileage; Doctor’s fees: $800. Scans and other tests: $1,200. Medication: $180. Bandages: $30. Fees for treatment at hospital: $1,600. Total claimed: $4,450 Total settlement paid by insurer: $4,892 Evidence for Macy’s Workers’ Compensation Claim As many claims are denied because of doubt whether an injury took place at work and not somewhere else, it is important to gather evidence that the injury happened in the store or at least while genuinely working for the company. If the injury was the result of a single accident, the best evidence will be statements from other employees who saw what happened. Even customers who may have helped when the accident took place can make good eye witnesses whose statements will help verify the location of the accident. Many places in a Macy’s store are covered by security cameras. These are intended to prevent shoplifting and other offences, but could also provide useful video coverage of any incident in which an employee was injured in an accident. Apart from documenting when and where the injury occurred, you should obtain all doctor’s reports, copies of tests and scans and all bills, receipts and invoices that involve payment for medical treatment. Don’t Represent Yourself Make sure that you talk with a workers’ compensation attorney to learn more about the law that is put in place to protect you. Don’t represent yourself. Workers’ compensation attorneys are experts and can help you protect your rights. *The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Macy's, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
