If you have been injured on the job, you may have the right to have your medical bills and lost wages paid by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. YOUR IMMIGRATION STATUS DOES NOT MATTER! The law protects every employee injured on the job whether they are in this country legally or not.
The following are things you should not do after a work injury if you want to protect your right to workers’ compensation payments:
- DON’T LET YOUR EMPLOYER OR SUPERVISOR CONVINCE YOU NOT TO CALL AN AMBULANCEYour health should be the most important thing. But companies often try to avoid providing workers’ compensation benefits to their employees after an accident. One of the ways is to deny that the employee was injured on the job. So they do not call emergency services to the scene of an accident because the responders will write a report about where the accident happened and how. The report of the rescue providers is important proof that you were injured on the job, and so may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.
- DON’T TELL THE HOSPITAL OR DOCTORS THAT YOU WERE NOT INJURED ON THE JOBDon’t lie about your work accident even if your employer tells you to. Many employers and supervisors will try to convince you to lie and say that your injury was not work related so that they can deny responsibility. Your truthful report of a work injury to the hospital and doctors is proof of how the accident happened. If you say the injury happened at home or anywhere else besides work, you will be responsible for the medical bills yourself. Your employer can use your own words against you to wash their hands of their responsibility to pay for your medical bills and lost wages.
- DON’T LET YOUR EMPLOYER SCARE YOU INTO LYING ABOUT HOW THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED BECAUSE OF YOUR LEGAL STATUSFlorida Workers’ Compensation law protects you regardless of what your immigration status is. It does not matter if you are undocumented or in the country illegally. Don’t let your employer convince you that you can’t make a claim if you are not a citizen and don’t have a work visa. They do that to avoid having to pay your medical bills and lost wages.
PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS!
If you have been hurt on the job, call an ambulance, tell the hospital and doctors exactly what happened and do not let anyone convince you not to claim your legal rights. Then hire a Miami Workers’ Compensation lawyer who will protect you to the fullest extent of the law. Call me if you have any questions. I have been fighting for the rights of injured workers in Miami-Dade and surrounding counties for over 30 years. Jose M. Francisco. Thank you.
Recommended Articles:
Florida Workers’ Compensation Employee Rights
An Overview of Florida Workers’ Compensation Law
Rights of Injured Undocumented Workers and the Importance of Legal Representation