The Employer's Responsibilities for Treating an Injury

By Howard Batt

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy  

Under workers compensation laws, can an employer refuse the employee medical attention at time of injury? The answer to that question is no, they may not deny you treatment, but you are the one who is responsible for making sure that you get it in some cases.

Your employer is a partner in your financial future, but sometimes when you're injured at work that may change. Very often, sometimes without intent, employers tend to look down on employees who are injured at work and the employee will feel somewhat less likely to report an injury or ever to seek treatment.

Failing to report an injury means that you are not qualified to receive any type of treatment for the injury under the law and that your employer is not necessarily constrained to offer you any type of remuneration after the fact, even if you find out later that your injury is more serious than was originally thought.

If you report your injury to your employer immediately you have the best chance of receiving your workers compensation without any real problems so it is encouraged that you report your injury and seek treatment within 24 hours and it is the law that you must report it within 7 days if you are to achieve any type of treatment or compensation for it.

Your responsibility is to notify your employer as rapidly as possible after your accident and to make sure that it is documented at work so that everyone knows that you received your injury in the workplace. This makes for granting you workers compensation far more easily accomplished.

Your employer has the responsibility to provide you with medical treatment if you request it immediately following the injury. If your injury is an emergency, then you can be sent to an emergency room for treatment. If the accident is not emergent in nature on site treatment may be provided by a nurse or an EMT or Paramedic, with follow-up treatment at a physician or hospital.

The worker has the right to prompt medical treatment and the employer has the responsibility to provide it. It may be in an emergency room immediately after the accident, and then the employer may be notified if it is an emergency injury.

If the injury is not emergent or life threatening, the employee has to notify the employer first of the injury and then seek medical care after speaking to the supervisor or employer.

The competent employer will not only offer medical care for their employee but will go with them to the medical facility in order that they know best what the physicians say is the prognosis and the diagnosis, as well as to know when the employee will be permitted to return to work.

Your employer does have the obligation in most states to see to the treatment of your injury and if the injury is of a serious nature, it is mandated that treatment take place immediately.

While your employer may offer you the physician who ordinarily treats the company employees you do have the right to request another doctor. In some states they are not obligated to offer that, however some permit it if you have requested to not use the company physician in advance, well before your injury has taken place.