Filing a Workers’ Comp Claim for a Broken Bone in Ohio

Broken bones are common work-related injuries. They are also expensive work-related injuries that can have a major impact on your personal finances. As a result, if you suffered a broken bone at work, it will be important for you to work with an experienced Columbus workers’ compensation attorney who can help you seek the full benefits you deserve.

While filing for workers’ compensation is supposed to be a straightforward process, there are challenges, and companies often make it much more difficult than it should be. As a result, you should not assume that you will receive the benefits you deserve simply by filing a claim. Instead, you need to be proactive about asserting your legal rights and making smart decisions with your long-term best interests in mind.

What To Do if You Suffer a Broken Bone On the Job in Ohio

So, what should you do if you suffer a broken bone on the job in Ohio? Here are some key steps you should take to help maximize your chances of recovering full workers’ compensation benefits:

1. Report Your Broken Bone to Your Employer

In order to file for workers’ compensation, you need to report your broken bone to your employer. Once you report it, your employer should file a claim with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), unless your employer is self-insured. If your employer is self-insured, this means that it covers workers’ compensation claims directly, and you will need to work directly with your employer to seek benefits for your medical expenses and lost earnings.

If your employer gives you a form to fill out when you report your broken bone, you should fill it out to the best of your ability. Be factual, and do not make any assumptions about what happened or why you got injured. Be sure to keep a copy for your records (take a photo with your phone, if necessary).

2. Make Sure You See a Certified Medical Provider

After your initial doctor’s visit, you are required to see a medical provider who is certified by the Ohio BWC. This is important—if you don’t see a certified provider, your medical bills might not be covered. You can find certified providers using the Ohio BWC’s Provider Look-Up Tool.

3. Follow Your Doctor’s Treatment Recommendations

As you go through the recovery process, you should follow your doctor’s advice and treatment recommendations. Crucially, this means taking time off from work if necessary. While you might be tempted to return to work before your bone has fully healed, this could negatively impact your workers’ compensation claim.

If your doctor says that you need to take extended time off from work, you should be able to collect disability benefits in addition to benefits for your medical care. Under Ohio law, injured employees who are eligible for workers’ compensation can collect disability benefits if they miss seven or more days from work. As the Ohio BWC explains:

“[Y]ou may qualify for [disability] benefits if [your] injury restricts you from working for more than seven calendar days . . . . We do not pay [disability] benefits for the first seven days of an injury until you have been unable to work for 14 or more consecutive days. Once you have missed 14 or more consecutive (calendar) days, we will compensate you for the total number of days missed.”

As the Ohio BWC also explains, even if you miss less than 14 days from work, your first seven days are payable with other compensation benefit types.” Once you hire an experienced Columbus workers’ compensation attorney to represent you, your attorney will be able to help with seeking any and all benefits that are available to you.

4. Keep Track of Your Medical Expenses and Time Off Work

To make sure you receive the full workers’ compensation benefits you deserve for your bone fracture, you should do your best to keep track of your medical expenses and the time you miss from work. If there are any discrepancies between your records and what the Ohio BWC (or your employer) says is covered, you should address this issue promptly.

5. Make Sure Your Employer Has Filed a Claim (Unless It Is Self-Insured)

As we said above, once you report your broken bone to your employer, your employer should file a claim with the Ohio BWC (unless it is self-insured). However, you should not assume that your employer will do the right thing in this scenario. Instead, contact the Ohio BWC to check whether a claim is pending. If a claim isn’t pending, your Columbus workers’ compensation attorney can file a claim as your authorized representative.

6. Make Sure You Know How Much You Are Entitled to Recover

Just as you should not assume that your employer will file a claim with the Ohio BWC, you should not assume that you will receive the full workers’ compensation benefits you deserve for your broken bone. Instead, you should make sure you know how much you are entitled to recover, especially for your disability benefits if you will miss (or have already missed) seven or more days from work.

However, this is easier said than done. Several factors are involved in calculating workers’ compensation disability benefits in Ohio, and if your fracture will have long-term effects, at some point your disability benefits may transition from temporary to permanent. If you aren’t sure how much you are entitled to recover (and most injured workers aren’t), you should seek help from an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.

7. Hire an Attorney to Help You Throughout the Process

From calculating your benefits to dealing with the Ohio BWC and your employer on your behalf, there are several ways an experienced Columbus workers’ compensation attorney can help you if you’ve suffered a broken bone on the job. It does not cost anything out-of-pocket to hire an attorney in this scenario, and, due to the challenges involved in filing a successful workers’ compensation claim, it is well worth putting an experienced attorney on your side. If your attorney helps you collect benefits for your bone fracture, your legal fees will be deducted from the benefits your attorney helps you recover.

What Not To Do if You Suffered a Broken Bone on the Job

Along with taking these steps to protect your legal rights after suffering a broken bone on the job, there are some potentially costly mistakes you need to avoid as well. For example, after suffering a bone fracture at work, you should be careful to avoid mistakes such as:

• Do Not Wait to Report Your Broken Bone or Seek Treatment – Waiting to report your broken bone or seek treatment could compromise your physical and financial recovery. Your employer cannot legally retaliate against you for reporting an accident at work, and you are allowed to see a doctor of your own choosing for your first visit. As a result, there is no reason not to take action right away.
• Do Not Let Your Employer Tell You That You Are Ineligible – Some companies will try to avoid liability for workers’ compensation claims by telling employees that they aren’t covered. If your employer says that you are ineligible for benefits (i.e., because you are an independent contractor and not an employee), you should seek advice from an attorney who has your best interests in mind.
• Do Not Let Your Workers’ Compensation Benefits End Too Soon – Even if you receive benefits initially, your benefits may end before your broken bone has fully healed. It is not unusual for employees’ benefits to be terminated prematurely—and, if this happens to you, you can (and should) fight for the full benefits to which you are legally entitled.
• Do Not Give Up on Your Workers’ Compensation Claim – Likewise, if you are struggling to obtain any benefits at all, you should not give up on your workers’ compensation claim. As we said above, unfortunately, filing for workers’ compensation benefits is often much harder than it should be.
• Do Not Overlook Other Potential Sources of Compensation – Finally, regardless of whether you are eligible for workers’ compensation, you may have other options for covering your medical bills, lost earnings, and other losses as well. For example, if you suffered a bone fracture in a vehicle collision, an equipment or machinery-related accident, or a premises-related accident, you could have a personal injury claim under Ohio law.

Request a Free Consultation with a Columbus Workers’ Compensation Attorney at Malek & Malek Law Firm

If you need to know more about filing a workers’ compensation claim for a broken bone in Ohio, we strongly encourage you to get in touch. Our attorneys have decades of experience helping injured workers assert their legal rights. To speak with an experienced Columbus workers’ compensation attorney at Malek & Malek Law Firm in confidence, call 888-444-7440 or request a free consultation online today.