Mistakes To Avoid in making a Work Accident Claim


If you have been hurt in a work related accident for which you are not wholly to blame, you may be able to make a claim. It is the duty of your employer to provide a safe work environment and if you have been injured due to a breach of duty of care, you may be able to recover financial compensation.

Making a claim following a workplace accident can be a difficult process. Mistakes made by claimants can make the process even more difficult. To be able to win compensation and that too without much hassle, it is important for claimants to be aware of the mistakes that can reduce their chance of winning their claim.

Given below are some of the common mistakes that you as a claimant must avoid when making a work accident claim.

1. Fail to report the accident - any accidents taking place at work must be reported. After this, details must be entered accurately in the accident book kept by the company. This step is quite important as it can help you obtain written evidence from the workplace that you had actually been involved in an accident and sustained injuries.

2. Assume all the personal injury law firms are the same - it is quite natural for victims of accidents to consult with a law firm which is close by or the first one they came across on the internet. They do this because they assume that all law firms offer the same level of service and will help them in the same way. This is not true. The expertise, skills and experience of work injury lawyers differ and therefore it is essential to make the right choice.

3. Settle early - you should not settle a claim before you have made full recovery. This is because the exact value of your claim can only be calculated once you have fully recovered from your injury. If you settle early, you won't be able to go back and ask for more money if something goes wrong in the future. Moreover, you should always appoint a specialist lawyer to assess your claim and calculate the value of your claim.

4. Give in to threats by your employer - following an accident at work, your employer, supervisor or manager may use scare tactics to discourage you from pursuing a work accident claim. If you know you were not the one at fault, you should not allow this to happen. Instead you must speak to your work injury lawyer and seek legal advice.