Evidence for a Workplace Injury Claim

Workplace accidents can have a devastating effect on a person and the situation can become even more difficult if an employer is trying to dispute the severity of your injuries. Perhaps they want to make it seem like your injuries aren’t as serious as you claim to be or that the effects of your injuries won’t last as long as your doctor claims they well. Or they might even try to deny that you were seriously hurt at all. So what can you do to prove your damages?

Types of Evidence for a Workplace Injury Claim

As is the case for any other type of accident, it’s important to have evidence to support your claim for damages. In the case of a workplace injury, a good thing to have is security footage. Very often, employers have security cameras in key areas of the workplace which may have documented your accident and the events leading up to it. Statements from witnesses are also extremely valuable, particularly if there isn’t any security footage available. Even if security footage does exist, witness statements can provide additional context for the footage. 

Photographs are another very important type of evidence to have. Not just of the scene of the accident, but of your injuries as well so that any visible injuries are well documented. 

Medical records are critical. Not only will they prove the full extent of your injuries, they will prove the fact that you were, indeed, injured. Very often, parties who are responsible for injuries will want to downplay the severity of your injuries. This can include statements from doctors and therapists you see, X-rays and results of other types of scans, and records of medications you were prescribed.

Depending on the nature of your injury, another type of evidence which could help support your claim is a maintenance/repair record. When a job involves working with powerful tools and machinery, it’s important for that equipment to undergo regular maintenance to make sure it works as it’s supposed to. When employers cut corners on maintenance, it’s possible for equipment to malfunction in a way that results in serious injuries. 

In some cases, it might be good to have timekeeping records from the day of the accident. This might be relevant information to have if there is some dispute about whether or not you were injured during business hours or if you were acting as an employee at the time of the accident. For example, if you were injured in a car accident while running an errand on your lunch break as opposed to while you were driving someplace at the direction of a manager or supervisor. 

Contact a Michigan Workplace Injury Lawyer

If you’ve been injured on the job, in most cases, workers compensation is going to be your primary option for getting things like your medical bills and lost income covered while you recover. However, it’s important to contact a workplace injury lawyer to make sure your workers comp claim is handled correctly from the very beginning so that you receive all the benefits you are entitled to. At Goodwin & Scieszka, you’ll be able to talk to a lawyer experienced in helping the victims of workplace accidents. Contact us today for help with your case.