If you sustain an injury during the course and scope of your employment there are procedures that you must follow to insure your injuries and time off work are covered under your employer’s insurance. If injured on the job, you MUST do the following:
1. Report your injury to your employer. You have SEVEN (7) days from the date of injury to notify your employer. You must request from your employer’s Human Resources Department a C-1 form. Submit the C-1 form to your employer in person and keep a signed copy for yourself.
2. You must seek medical attention for your injury immediately. Ask your employer if there is a medical facility they require injured employees to visit for initial consultations. If there is no preference, you may seek treatment with your primary physician. You MUST ensure that your physician fills out a C-4 form during your initial medical visit. The C-4 form is the initial form that all workers’ compensation claims require to document the initial injury. You must provide a copy of the C-4 form to your employer.
3. If your employer’s insurance company denies your claim, you MUST file a Request for Hearing within 70 days of the date of the letter. If you miss this deadline, your claim is lost and you cannot seek medical care or compensation under this claim.
4. It is important to remember, Nevada is a no fault state for workers’ compensation injuries. This means that it doesn’t matter if you were negligent or if your employer was negligent in causing the injury. As long as you were not using illegal drugs or intoxicated at the time of injury your claim should be accepted.
James E. Herbe, Esq.
