What To Do When A Job Supervisor Instructs You To Lie About Your Injury
If you become injured on the job, you should report the incident to your supervisor as soon as possible in order to qualify for workers compensation. But if your supervisor refuses to document the incident and asks you to lie about your injury, you may wonder if it's the right thing to do. If you don't report your injury in a timely manner, or at all, you won't receive the medical care and financial support you need to recover. In many cases, you may lose your job if your employer finds out about the lie. Here are reasons to report your injury and what to do if your supervisor still refuses to do the right thing.
What Happens If You Lie About Your Injury?
Lying about your injury, can be potentially devastating to your health and well being, especially if your injury becomes worse and affects your future. In recent news, an employee injured their hand on the job. The employee's supervisor instructed them to lie about the injury and refused to document or report it. The employee's seemingly harmless injuries soon become a full-blown infection that not only affected their ability to work in the future, it caused permanent damage to their hand.
In addition, your employer may have the right to fire you if you violate their injury-reporting rules and requirements. An employer can also fire you if you misinterpret or exaggerate how, why and when you received your injuries. Your supervisor may not back up your claims in fear of losing their own position with the company. For example, the supervisor may say that they know nothing about your injuries because you failed to report your accident to them as required. All these issues may affect how you receive treatment for your injuries.
If you try to receive medical care for your unreported injuries, doctors may not treat you if the insurer refuses to pay for it. You may need to pay out of pocket for your treatment. If you don't have private health insurance, the expenses and lost time from work may cause financial difficulties for your family.
In order to avoid complications with your workers comp claim and get around the supervisor, hire an attorney.
How Can You Report Your Injury Without the Supervisor's Consent?
A workers compensation attorney, such as Gilbert, Blaszcyk & Milburn LLP, may go ahead and file a claim for you. The claim will generally include the exact date and time of the accident that caused you injuries, as well as a list of people who witnessed it. If you tried to seek medical care immediately after your accident, provide the name and contact number of the doctor or hospital that treated you.
Also, tell the attorney exactly what the supervisor instructed you to say about your incident. Although it may be your word against the supervisor's word, the information may still be of use to you later. The supervisor may have a history of lying about workers compensation injuries. An attorney may be able to obtain evidence of the supervisor's unethical behavior by locating former employees and obtaining affidavits, or testimonies, from them.
If none of the above things work, a workers compensation attorney may take your case to court. A court judge may examine the evidence presented to them and make a decision about your case right away, or they may take longer to go through everything. An attorney will generally discuss what you may or may not expect about your court case before they proceed. Until you receive an answer about your claim, it's critical keep all of your doctors' appointments. If your injuries become worse or causes additional problems for you, an attorney may seek more workers compensation benefits for you.
For more details about your possible case, contact a lawyer today.
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