Being injured in your workplace can have serious impacts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18% of the 1,176,340 nonfatal work injuries resulting in days away from work in 2020 were related to slips, trips, and falls. Whether you suffer a slip and fall, a broken bone, or even a burn, getting hurt at work can be a life-changing moment.
Instead of earning money for you and your loved ones, you have to deal with surgeries, doctor's appointments, treatment, and recovery time — while the bills pile up. If you sustain an injury on the job, it's important to act as soon as you can and understand your rights. In the moments after your injury, seek medical care immediately. Then, after securing your health, start collecting the necessary documentation — beginning with the injury report you submit to your employer.
Hurt on the Job? We Fight for Your Benefits.
At Morrison & Hughes, we help injured Georgia workers document and file their claims and stand up to insurers who don't want to pay.
1. Delaying a Report Could Hurt Your Case
You should report any injury to your employer right away. Waiting too long may impact your workers' compensation claim if you decide to file later. It could also give your employer and their insurance company an opening to claim that your injury wasn't serious, wasn't caused by a workplace incident, or was even made up.
Under Georgia law, you have 30 days to report your claim to a supervisor (or an appropriate person in company management). But waiting the full 30 days, rather than reporting immediately, will likely make your employer and their insurer skeptical of your claim. You also have only one year after your injury to actually file a claim with the State Board of Workers' Compensation — and you cannot rely on your employer, or their insurer, to do this for you.
2. Not Reporting at All Means Losing the Compensation You Deserve
Sometimes injured employees don't bother to file a claim or even report an incident because the injury doesn't seem significant. But even minor injuries can have lasting impacts — especially if your position involves physical labor that aggravates the injury over time.
The time after a workplace injury can be chaotic. If you're able, keep track of the following — and if you can't because of your injury, ask a trusted coworker to help:
- A written, dated report of the injury
- Texts and emails between you and your employer
- Police reports, EMS reports, OSHA reports, and other governmental reports on the accident
- Independent Medical Evaluations (IME) or peer reviews
- Statements from you (the employee), your employer, and any witnesses
3. Know What Goes Into an Injury Report
Now that you know how important it is to report your injury in Georgia, here's the information you'll typically need to include in your workplace injury report:
- The date and time of the workplace accident that caused your injury
- Where you were when the injury happened
- What task you were engaged in when you were hurt
- The symptoms that made you aware of your injury
- The parts of your body affected by the injury
- Coworkers or colleagues who witnessed the incident
Injury reports are strongest when they're detailed, clearly worded, and give a complete picture of the circumstances. Be sure to list every single body part that was injured — otherwise you're unlikely to get care for that injury. At Morrison & Hughes, we can help you complete your injury report, and we don't back down from pushy employers who try to wrongly blame the injury on you instead of their own negligence.
4. Reporting Quickly Means You Can Be Compensated Sooner
After you've reported your injury, organize any communications between you, your employer, and your employer's insurer. With the documentation in hand, the filing process can begin sooner — and you can be compensated more quickly.
Consider getting an attorney involved early to walk you through fully reporting the claim and setting up medical care. Claim documentation can be complex, and your employer's insurers will try to steer you to the most insurance-friendly doctors so you receive the least amount of payment possible. A good attorney will help you choose your doctor and understand your rights when it comes to medical care. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and keep anything related to your injury — files, prescriptions, doctor's notes, letters, and emails you send or receive.
Conclusion
No matter how minor or how serious your injury, report it to your employer as soon as possible. Doing so strengthens your workers' compensation claim and can get it resolved more quickly than if you had waited — or not filed at all. And if you've been injured at work, you're not on your own: at Morrison & Hughes, we don't back down against insurers who don't want to pay out. Leave the work to us while you focus on recovering.