When you have sustained an on-the-job injury, you should report it to your employer immediately. Waiting longer than 30 days to report your injury may give the insurance company grounds to deny your claim.
Your employer should report your injury to their workers compensation insurance carrier within seven days of when they receive knowledge of it. The insurance company is required to send you an informational brochure that explains the workers compensation process and the injured worker’s rights and responsibilities. The insurance company will put this into the mail within three days of notification of your injury by your employer.
You will be able to receive treatment at a medical provider of the employer’s or insurance company’s choosing. All of your treatment, physical therapy, specialists and prescriptions are paid for by the workers comp insurance carrier.
If the insurance company has accepted your injury, you are entitled to receive temporary partial or temporary total disability payments from your employer’s workers compensation insurance carrier. You will not receive payment for the first seven days of your disability unless you are disabled for more than 21 days. In that event, you may receive payment for the first week you became disabled.
Your benefit check will be 66-2/3 percent of your average weekly wage and will be paid in bi-weekly payments. You should receive your first benefit check within 21 days of reporting your injury to your employer. You can receive temporary partial or temporary total disability payments for a maximum of 104 weeks (two years).
If you qualify, you may receive Social Security benefits along with your workers compensation checks. There may be an adjustment in your workers compensation checks if your benefits exceed 80 percent of your average weekly wage. You may not receive unemployment benefits at the same time as workers compensation checks.