Know your rights
Job Related Injuries
Know your rights
Worker’s compensation insurance covers work-related injuries, disease or other medical conditions incurred by employees during the course of the job, as well as a pre-existing condition made worse by work-related activities. All public employers are required by law to carry and pay the full cost of this insurance.
Claims must be filed promptly
You should immediately notify your supervisor of a workplace injury, or as soon as you notice symptoms that develop as a result of your job. If you inform your supervisor verbally, it is important that you promptly follow up with written notice to your employer. A delayed report could hamper your chances of collecting benefits.
If you wish to be treated by the physicians of your choice for an on-the-job injury, this designation must be in your personnel file prior to the injury; otherwise, the employer can send you to its physician. (For more information about how to pre-designate, contact any chapter officer.)
Employers pay the cost of treatment
The employer is responsible for the cost of all treatment, including medical, hospitalization, surgery, chiropractic care, nursing, medicine, medical and surgical supplies, crutches, etc.
The employer has access to all reports and records by the doctors and other healthcare workers involved with the employee’s treatment, so you are encouraged to refrain from answering wide-ranging questions that do not relate directly to the injury or accident.
If you are injured on the job, report to your employer and to a CSEA chapter leader or job steward. CSEA will help you protect your rights and collect any benefits you’re entitled to receive.