The day at work is going along as usual when right in the middle of lifting a box from the floor to the table, you feel a wrenching pain in your back. You drop the box and fall to your knees in pain. You have injured your back at work. What should you do next? In this article we’ll share some tips for what you should do next to make sure that you preserve your right to compensation for a work-related back injury.

1. Report the accident and fill out an accident report. You must report the accident and injury to your employer immediately. The sooner you file the report the better your memory will be about the event. In Pennsylvania you must fill out the report within 120 days, but sooner is always better. If you do not report the accident your employer may deny medical treatment and workers’ compensation benefits.
2. Review the list of approved physicians. After you report the injury your employer will give you a list of company approved physicians. The doctor you select from this list will evaluate your condition and refer you to any specialists depending on your medical needs.
3. Visit the doctor (and get a second opinion if you need to). Tell the doctor about the accident, how you feel and if you have any history of back pain or other back injuries. Follow the doctor’s advice and don’t miss any appointments. You can always get a second opinion form another doctor for any reason. You will have to pay for the second doctor unless they were on the list of company approved physicians.
4. Find out you Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI). When the doctor determines that your injury has healed as much as it is going to heal, she can see no further improvement, and all treatment options have been exhausted you have reached MMI or maximum medical improvement. If you are receiving workers’ compensation when your injury reaches MMI, your doctor will give you a disability rating. This rating will determine the kind of tasks you can handle when you go back to work and what restrictions should apply to your workload. Your disability rating will also factor into your settlement amount.
5. Schedule an appointment with a workers’ compensation attorney. Contact a Philadelphia workers’ compensation attorney who will discuss your case with you. You can find out what your rights and your options are. You won’t pay for an initial consultation, so you can sit down and discuss your case and then decide how to proceed with no obligation.

If you have suffered a workplace injury, contact the Philadelphia workers’ compensation attorneys at Larry Pitt & Associates. We can inform you of your legal options so you can move forward with your life. We keep 6 office locations to better serve our clients in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties.