Getting hurt on the job is the last thing that anyone wants to have happen. Workers don’t want painful injuries that will affect their job performance and daily lives, and the companies that employ them certainly don’t want to absorb the costs related to work injuries.
Even when everyone does their best to avoid mistakes at work, injuries sometimes just happen. Machinery can malfunction, or a customer can become violent. Typically, any worker in Ohio injured on the job has the right to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits.
Many times, workers hurt their own cases because they don’t seek benefits in a timely manner. In fact, sometimes they don’t even report the injury to their employer. Why would a worker hurt on the job choose not to advise their employer of what happened?
They fear retaliation
One of the most common reasons that workers decide to ignore an incident that left them injured and use their own resources to pay for their medical care or days off of work is that they don’t want their employer to punish them.
Technically, it is illegal for companies in Ohio to retaliate against workers who make use of the workers’ compensation system after getting hurt on the job. However, companies will often break employment laws, including the laws against retaliation. Workers may worry about getting demoted or fired if they report their injuries.
They don’t want to look incompetent
Often, workers get injured because they may have made a mistake on the job. Especially if someone is new in their current position, they may feel like they cannot speak up about their injuries out of fear of their coworkers judging them or their employer starting to believe they can’t do their job properly.
The impact of admitting a mistake can be particularly severe in blue-collar industries, as there can be stigma from coworkers.
They don’t understand how benefits help
If a worker already has health insurance, they may not see the value in filing a claim for workers’ compensation. Typically, workers who choose not to file and to use their own benefits instead don’t understand how workers’ compensation protects them and may cover more of their costs than basic health insurance.
Reporting an incident to your employer as soon as possible after you get hurt helps the company better manage its own safety practices and training and also helps ensure that you can potentially file a claim for benefits if your injury ends up requiring significant medical treatment or keeping you out of your job for some type.
Learning more about Ohio workers’ compensation benefits can help you feel confident about speaking up when you get hurt on the job.