You may incur medical expenses as well as lost wages due to a work injury. When this happens, it can cause a person a lot of stress. Thankfully, if you suffer an injury at work, you may be eligible for workers' compensation benefits, which covers both your medical expenses and missed wages. The other positive is if you are granted workers' compensation, you will not have to worry about establishing liability in the accident that led to your injury.

However, many people aren't sure about how to submit a claim correctly, which can lead the insurance or New Jersey's Workers' Compensation Board to reject the claim. Fortunately, there are several actions you can take to make sure you receive the benefits you are entitled to.

The New Jersey workers' compensation attorneys at Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, can help if you find yourself in this situation. Contact us if you have questions.

Read on, as we discuss how to maximize your workers’ comp settlement.

Best Ways To Maximize Your Workers’ Compensation

The best techniques to increase your workers' compensation settlement and lessen the likelihood of a rejected claim are below:

Report Your Work Injury to Your Employer

You must notify your employer right away if you experience a work-related injury. You will forfeit your opportunity to receive workers' compensation if you wait too long. Under NJ Workers’ Compensation Law, you must report the injury within 30 days to be eligible for full benefits, but technically have up to 90 days. However, if it's between 31-90 days, the amount of benefits you receive may be affected.

As soon as the injury occurs, notify your employer. This is best practice, and remember that you must notify your employer in writing.

Find out how to report the injuries properly. If it is not done correctly, you could risk having your claim denied.

Seek Medical Attention Immediately

If you are hurt at work, you should visit the doctor. A few days of waiting to see if the injury would heal is a common practice, but you shouldn't do this. Seek medical attention right away, especially if the injury is severe, such as a head injury.

Accept your employer's request to visit their doctor, if this is offered. If you don't, an insurance company may contest that your injury wasn't serious or wasn't caused by your job. The most important thing is to get medical care soon, so you ensure you have evidence when you seek compensation.

Know The Various Disability Ratings

An injury at the workplace may leave you disabled and unable to work for a specified time period. You could fall under one of the different types of disabilities covered by workers' compensation, including:

• Temporary Total Disability: This prevents you from working at all for a predetermined period of time.

• Temporary Partial Disability: This means you have a temporary partial disability that stops you from performing particular job activities for a set amount of time.

• Permanent Total Disability: These work-related injuries prevent you from ever returning to your previous employment or working at any job.

• Permanent Partial Disability: This stops you from carrying out certain job responsibilities permanently.

The level of disability the doctor will assign you depends on the severity of your work injury. Weekly benefits are available to those with disabilities, and you can receive 70% of your average weekly wages before you were injured, up to $969. You may be qualified for a lifetime schedule of weekly benefits if you are permanently disabled.

Refrain From Giving a Recorded Statement

Insurance providers occasionally question the injured employee in an effort to reduce the payout. Don't consent if the insurance company requests a recorded statement from you or says they want to record a phone call with you. To ensure that nothing may be used against you, you should first speak with your New Jersey workers' compensation attorney.

Adjusters will use anything they can to pay you less compensation, so it's really important to be careful what you say.

Follow Up On Your Claim

Your employer must notify its insurer of your injury and file a claim after receiving notification from you. Some employers, especially those who don't want to pay benefits, might neglect to do this. Therefore, ensure that they submitted the claim and monitor the development.

If the deadline for filing passes, you could be left to pay your own losses.

Hire An Experienced New Jersey Workers Comp Lawyer To Ensure You Maximize Your Claim

The longer you wait to file a workers' compensation claim, the more difficult it will be for you to receive the full amount of compensation you are entitled to. Additionally, you should be aware that the insurance company might not share your employer's sympathy for your work-related injury. To ensure the most possible compensation, utilize the advice mentioned above.

Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, can work with you to make sure you receive the most compensation possible following a workplace injury. We have years of experience in New Jersey employment law and workers' compensation claims. We defend your rights and make sure you don't face any injustice as a result of making the claim.

To discuss the specifics of your case and how our New Jersey workers' compensation attorneys can assist you, call our office today to schedule a free consultation.

We service the entire state of New Jersey, as well as many other cities around the Tri-State.