Many, many people in Massachusetts will suffer an on-the-job injury at one point or another. When that happens, it triggers Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation protections for the injured worker. It is vital for the injured worker to take the necessary steps to protect him or herself legally following a work injury. But it is equally important to avoid making certain mistakes that can seriously affect an injured worker’s rights to Workers’ Compensation benefits. Here are three things not to do following an on-the-job injury in Massachusetts.

You Don’t Have To Go To The Insurance Company’s Doctors

• By law, you are entitled to go to any doctor you choose to go to following a Workers’ Comp accident.
• If the insurance adjuster tells you that you have to go to their own doctor for medical treatment, he or she is lying to you.
• However, keep in mind that you must go to the insurance company’s doctor for an independent medical exam, or sometimes referred to as simply an IME. The IME is a mandatory doctor’s appointment you must attend that is paid for and set up by the insurance company that is paying your Workers’ Compensation benefits. Failure to attend that appointment can severely compromise the rights you’re entitled to. However, for all other medical visits that are not IME medical visits, you can go to any doctor you choose to go to.

Never Sign a Form 105

• The Form 105 is a form that works to your disadvantage and works to the advantage of the Worker’s Compensation insurance company. By law in Massachusetts, if an insurance company pays your Workers’ comp benefits for more than six months, that is then considered to be an accepted case.
• After that six months, or 180-day period, if the insurance company is paying you weekly benefits, they may not, by law, stop paying you benefits unless a judge allows them to stop paying you your benefits. If you were to sign the Form 105, that will allow the Workers’ Compensation insurance company to stop paying you your weekly benefits after the six-month period elapses without having to ask a judge to stop your benefits.
• Therefore, make sure never to sign Form 105 because by signing that, you are severely crippling your rights that you’re entitled to under Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Law. If the insurance company sends you a Form 105, simply put it in the trash and forget about it.

Don’t Handle The Case On Your Own

• Workers’ Comp laws in Massachusetts are very intricate and complex. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can really affect your rights under Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Law. By making even the slightest mistake, you can severely affect your entitlements under law. That is why it is crucial to hire a competent and experienced Workers’ Comp attorney to help you through the legal process.
• A qualified personal injury attorney will understand the necessary paperwork, as well as the necessary procedural steps that occur in court that are part and parcel of all Worker’s Compensation cases in Massachusetts. Keep in mind, by law, a Workers’ Comp lawyer only gets paid if he or she is successful. That is also called a contingency fee, which is what all lawyers in Massachusetts charge for accidents such as motor vehicle crashes, bicycle accidents, wrongful death actions, etc.
• Having a Workers’ Comp attorney on your side will make all the difference when it comes to settling your case via a lump-sum settlement.

Therefore, by avoiding making these three mistakes with your case, you will be doing yourself a really big favor. Of course, there are other mistakes to avoid as well, but the preceding three are some of the biggest, and most common mistakes that people make.

The Earley Law Group Injury Lawyers is dedicated to advocating for those that have been injured due to negligence. Our office also provides free legal guides entitled The Truth Series which is intended to help personal injury accident victims make the best possible legal decision for their case.