When you meet with your workers' compensation attorney for the first time, you will likely spend much of the meeting going over the basic details of your claim and the issues you are having. You will then likely be tasked with gathering specific documents so your attorney can begin building your case. The sooner you get these to your attorney, the more quickly they can act. You can save time by ensuring you have some of the most common documents ready for the initial meeting.
Filing documentation
If you have already filed your documents, then hopefully you made copies before you turned them in. You also need to have copies of any documentation that has been sent to you in regards to the filing, such as a denial. Your lawyer needs to be able to look these over so they can both make sure there were no mistakes in the initial application as well as have the exact reasons for denial on hand. Accident reports filed at the initial time of the accident, typically by a supervisor or HR department, should be included with these documents.
Medical records
Every medical record that pertains to your workers' comp claim needs to be kept since you can only claim on a well-documented injury. This includes the original diagnosis, including records of tests and x-rays, as well as any ongoing treatment, such as physical therapy. Pharmacy receipts, including those for doctor-recommended over the counter medications, also need to be made available since all of these are part of your claim.
Proof of loss
You can only claim on what you have lost in most cases. If you don't miss any work, your claim will likely be limited to medical and recovery expenses. On the other hand, if the injury meant you could work, and you lost out on pay or had to cash in paid time off, then you can claim the lost income. You will need to provide copies of pay stubs, both those showing your pre-injury pay as well as proof of lost hours. You may also need a copy of your employment contract.
There are other pieces of documentation that are specific to the particulars of a case. For example, your attorney may also need testimonies from witness or photographic evidence of the injury or its cause. It's important that you keep the originals and only provide copies of all documents. Contact a workers' comp lawyer for more help.
Share8 November 2017
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