Filing a successful workers’ compensation claim requires providing plenty of evidence of your injury or illness to your employer and the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission (OWCC). Because workers’ compensation only covers incidents that occur at work or during work-related activities, you must be able to prove that your injury or illness is strictly work-related.

Documentation is the foundation of all workers’ compensation claims, but many applicants are unsure of which documents they need—or how to get them. If you’re thinking about filing a workers’ compensation claim or are already in the process of filing, this blog has the information you need to gather and present documentation that can make a big difference in your chances of success.

Follow These 6 Steps to Prepare for Your Claim

Getting the right documentation requires being thorough and acting quickly. You not only need all the necessary documentation, but you also need to obtain it as soon as possible. That’s because some documentation may become more difficult to locate or utilize as time passes after your workplace or work-related injury.

To properly document your workplace injury, you should:

1. Immediately Notify Your Employer: Inform your employer about the injury as soon as possible. Oklahoma law requires that you notify your employer within 30 days of the injury. Timely reporting helps initiate the workers’ compensation process and ensures you receive necessary medical care. It can also help remove doubt about when and how the injury occurred.
2. Get Medical Treatment: Get immediate medical treatment for your work-related injuries. Prompt medical attention not only helps prevent injuries from worsening and increases your chances of recovery, but it also firmly establishes the connection between your workplace accident and the injury that prevents you from working.
3. Ask for All Forms Completed by Your Employer: Virtually all employers should have paperwork that they also have to complete for documenting injuries suffered by employees. Supervisors or managers typically fill out this paperwork, and injured employees are often required to sign it. After signing these documents, ask for copies for your own records.
4. Maintain a Personal Log of Your Workplace Injury: Write a detailed account of the injury, including the date, time, location, and circumstances. Collect statements, names, and contact details of any coworkers or customers who witnessed the incident. If possible, take photos of your injury and the accident scene. Finally, keep receipts for all related expenses, such as medical bills and travel costs for treatment.
5. Cooperate With Your Employer’s Investigation: In the days or weeks after your work-related injury, your employer may investigate the incident to understand what happened, identify hazards, and prevent future injuries. Providing statements about your injury can help further build your claim while keeping others safe from being injured in the same way.

Avoid These 3 Common Post-Injury Mistakes

When documenting a workers’ compensation claim in Oklahoma, it’s important to avoid these common pitfalls to strengthen your case:

1. Exaggerating or Downplaying Your Injury: Be honest about your injury. Saying your injury is worse or less severe than it is can jeopardize your chances of getting workers’ compensation benefits. Describe your injury and its effects on your day-to-day life as accurately as possible to your employer, the OWCC, your doctor, and your lawyer.
2. Relying Solely on Verbal Communication: When employees get injured and file claims, employers’ workers’ compensation insurance premiums may increase. Because of that, they may deny claims or pretend injuries didn’t happen. Ensure all communication about your injury leaves a paper trail you can access to use as evidence.
3. Discussing Your Injury on Social Media: Written documentation of your injury should remain private and occur only via email and printed forms. Discussing your injury with others, especially on social media, can hurt your chances of getting approved for benefits. That’s because the OWCC or even your employer may use your words and posts against you in an effort to claim your injuries aren’t work-related or aren’t serious enough to prevent you from working while you recover.

Our Oklahoma City Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Can Help Document Your Injury

After a work-related injury, you want to rest, spend time with loved ones, and focus on getting better. Dealing with the demands of a workers’ compensation claim may be beyond your capabilities right now—especially when you feel the clock ticking on collecting evidence, filling out forms, and dealing with the OWCC.

At Parrish DeVaughn Injury Lawyers, our Oklahoma City workers’ compensation attorneys understand this problem, and we work hard to solve it for injured employees throughout Oklahoma. Our legal team has the experience and track record of success to handle all aspects of your workers’ compensation claim, including proper documentation, while you concentrate on recovery.

Contact us anytime for a free case review.