Injuring your back at work is a common way for a worker to seriously hurt themselves, but some costly mistakes often prevent injured Iowans from getting all rightfully owed benefits for this injury. If you believe you have recently suffered a back injury due to work in Iowa, there are some important steps to consider.
Did You Actually Suffer a Work Injury According to Iowa Law?
First, like all work injuries in Iowa, our back injury must be “arising out of” and “in the course of” your employment. In other words, the most basic requirements of an injury to qualify for workers’ compensation is it must occur while working and while performing duties necessary for the job.
In the context of a back injury, for example, this includes bending over to pick something up and then having a sharp pain in the back. If your employment actively contributed to the injury and the injury happened because of work, it likely qualifies for Iowa work comp benefits.
You Have a Limited Amount of Time to Report Your Work Injury in Iowa
If you believe your back injury has occurred because of work, it is very important to notify a supervisor at work right away. Generally, the law states that an employee must report the injury within ninety days of discovering the injury. In other words, once you believe that the back injury impacts your ability to work, you need to let your employer know as soon as you can.
From there, your employer and its workers’ compensation insurance carrier will likely investigate whether the injury occurred because of work. If the insurance carrier denies that your back injury occurred at work, it is important to contact an experienced Iowa workers’ compensation attorney for assistance.
Employers and insurance carriers will often attempt to deny coverage for back injuries. There are a couple of reasons for this. It’s not always easy to see a back injury occur, even if someone was to observe you bending or stretching a certain way that led to your injury. Also, back injuries don’t always show up on an MRI or CT scan, so they’re not as easy to prove.
Was Your Iowa Work Comp Claim Denied?
If your back injury was denied by the work comp insurance company, this does not mean you don’t have a claim. So long as you have reported your back injury that occurred because of work, it is likely that you qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. An experienced Iowa work comp lawyer can help fight for benefits after a work injury.
If these benefits have been denied, call RSH Legal today at 1-319-774-1903.