By Elaine Watson,
Personal assistant to Attorney Howard Spiva
GEORGIA Workers' Compensation ~COMMON MISTAKE 1
FAILING TO PROPERLY REPORT YOUR ACCIDENT
The most important step if you are injured on the job is to report the injury to your employer. Most employers have an accident policy in place which can generally be found in an employee manual.
If this is the case, then follow those guidelines set out in the manual. If there is no policy then it is best to let everyone know of the injury which would include co-workers, supervisors, and/or any human resource department that your employer may have.
Employers and insurance companies sometimes tell injured employees that they cannot file a claim because they were not notified of the accident within time.
Some employers tell the injured that they had to have notice within 24 hours of the accident. THIS IS NOT THE LAW.
The law generally requires written notice of the injury by accident within 30 days.
If the employer or an agent or representative had actual knowledge of the accident then the employer is also deemed to have notice of the injury.
For this reason, it is important to report to everyone at the place of your employment the injury by accident.
To protect your rights, you can go to www.sbwc.georgia.gov (board forms) and file a WC-14, notice of claim.
You can also contact the State Board of Workers Compensation to see if the employer filed a WC-1 First Report of Injury
