Despite the presence of safety equipment to prevent injuries at work, serious accidents do happen. Workers may have to take long periods off work to recover from spinal cord injuries. Some spinal injuries are so serious that the victim is never able to return to normal life. If this has happened to you, your employer should have worker’s compensation insurance in place to cover its workers for medical costs and loss of earnings. Due to the strict requirements to qualify you should seek help from a WC attorney to ensure you get your worker’s comp. entitlements. How Spinal Injuries can Occur at Work There are many situations where spinal injuries could take place. These include: slips and falls on ragged floor coverings; tripping over workplace equipment; slipping on a floor that hasn’t been cleaned properly; knocked down by a forklift or other workplace machinery. Those most at risk from spinal cord injuries include factory workers, construction industry workers and warehouse workers. The sorts of hazards these workers could encounter where they are likely to be injured are faulty or poorly secured scaffolding, the use of ladders to reach high shelves and falling into a trench on a work site. Any type of fall could lead to spinal cord injuries. Filing a WC Claim for a Spinal Injury Many injured employees lose out on worker’s comp. for a number of reasons. The most important is failing to inform the employer of the spinal cord injury in the time that has been set. Also, filing a worker’s compensation claim has to be done within the state’s statute of limitations. This can range from between two and three years depending on the state. You cannot be denied a worker’s comp. claim if you were partly responsible for the injury. One of the key reasons for denying a claim is the employer’s worker’s comp. insurer isn’t convinced that your spinal cord injury took place at work. That is why it is important to get the evidence to prove the accident took place while you were on the job. You may need photographic evidence and witness’ statements. Calculating What a Spinal Injury WC Claim Might be Worth How much a spinal cord injury is worth will depend on the worker’s comp. insurers’ calculations. This will be based on how much medical treatment is required and whether the spinal cord injury can be treated so that the victim can return to normal life. Many workplace spinal cord injuries could reach a value of $100,000. Most injured employees could receive any of the following through a worker’s comp. claim: weekly payments; permanent impairment payments; cost of medical bills; vocational rehabilitation. A Workers’ Compensation Attorney Can Help You With Your Claim Worker’s comp. insurers are never keen to let go of any compensation if they can help it, so hiring a worker’s comp. attorney will help ensure you get the full worth of your claim. Additional Resources Spinal Cord Injury and Workers' Compensation I Was Paralyzed While Working. Can I Get Workers' Comp?
