Don’t Ignore a “Harmless” Work Injury
Sometimes a work injury doesn’t seem so obvious even to the person who is hurt.
A product stocker at a retail store might slip and hurt their head but not suffer a cut or bruise even though they feel dizzy a day after falling. A data entry clerk might begin to feel pain and numbness in their wrists while performing their tasks but show no obvious swelling. If you’ve experienced so-called subjective symptoms from an injury at work, you might be tempted to blow off the pain and just “work through it.” How harmful can a headache be? But it’s important that you always seek medical attention, even if – perhaps especially if – you are not so sure you’ve really suffered a serious injury.
It’s understandable that you might be reluctant to see a doctor if you’re experiencing discomfort. A visit takes time and money. You might be tempted to save a doctor’s appointment for when you’re really feeling sick and cannot go to work. Or it might be in your nature to try to ignore discomfort and wait for that dizziness or headache to go away. But you owe it to yourself to see a doctor if you’ve been hurt. Here are two big reasons why:
1. Your Injury Might Be More Serious Than You Realize
First off, let’s state the obvious: you are not a doctor. Are you really qualified to diagnose an injury? A physician may catch an injury that is more serious than you realize. A head concussion, for example, can be life-threatening if not promptly diagnosed. An MRI or CT scan may detect a deeper injury than you realized you had. The sooner a physician understands what’s going on, the sooner you can receive treatment that will help you recover.
2. Going to a Doctor Early on Will Help You Down the Road
Seeing a doctor early on also gives you more credibility should you report a work injury to your employer after the fact or find yourself embroiled in litigation over causation.
Having a record of a medical visit and a doctor’s assessment right after being hurt at work will buttress your case down the road. If you file a workers’ compensation claim weeks or months after you first began to experience a symptom, but you did not see a doctor right away, an insurance company can argue that your injury was not serious enough to support your claim to begin with. On the other hand, having an early medical record showing a history of symptom complaints that arose from a work activity will help an arbitrator easily find you credible if you need to testify about your injury later.
Never blow off an injury and wait for it to go away. If you are hurt at work, you owe it to yourself to see a doctor.
Call Capron Avgerinos & Heinlen
Call Capron Avgerinos & Heinlen now at (855) 208-3904 if you need help with a workers’ compensation case in Illinois or Iowa. As your Illinois and Iowa Injury Network, we are ready to assist you over the phone or in person. We perform our cases on a contingent fee basis, which means we are not paid unless you recover compensation for your claim. Call Capron Avgerinos & Heinlen at (855) 208-3904 – let us show how we can deliver results for you.
