Car accidents are a hassle.
When you're involved in a car accident, you are late to wherever you're going, you have to worry about fixing your car, and there's a good chance you'll have to deal with someone else who has been involved in the accident who probably won't be in the best mood.
Nevermind getting injured.
If you get injured, it can practically turn your world upside down.
You have to make it to the hospital, get treated for your injuries, and then many times, you have to start a rehab program at home.
And then you usually have to file a personal injury claim and wait it out as you and a lawyer negotiate with insurance companies so you can pay your medical bills.
It's stressful just thinking about it.
That's without even worrying about your job.
Some injuries will force you to miss work after the car accident.
That means you will lose even more money in the form of lost wages.
Because of that, you will likely want to get back to work as soon as you can, but sometimes you aren't able to make it back as fast as you'd like.
Depending on your injuries and your doctor's orders, you could end up missing a substantial amount of work.
It's important to remember that going back to work too early can worsen your injuries, and stretch out your recovery even longer.
There's no way to rush the healing process, and your injuries don't care that you have to get back to work.
There are delayed injuries that can occur from a car accident. For more information read our blog post: "5 Common Delayed Car Accident Injuries."
In order to be sure you don't return to work too early and worsen your injuries, you should take the tips in the article below into consideration.
Table of Contents
- Know What To Do If You Re-Injure Yourself At Work
- Go To All Of Your Follow Up Appointments
- Don't Force Yourself To Go Back To Work Too Soon
- Document Everything
- Get Your Doctor's Note
- Take Your Time
Know What To Do If You Re-Injure Yourself At Work
Even if you do everything right and you follow through with your recovery plan and wait to go back to work, there's still a chance you could re-injure yourself or have a flare up at work.
If that happens, you need to inform your employer right away and schedule a doctor's appointment as soon as possible.
If you go back to work and find yourself unable to fulfill your responsibilities because of your injury, you should discuss that with your employer right away.
There may be another job you can do until your injury has completely healed.
You might want to go back to the doctor if that happens as well.
They can re-evaluate you to see why you weren't able to perform, and as a result, they could recommend more time off of work.
In some cases, people have had to find new jobs altogether.
Go To All Of Your Follow Up Appointments
After your initial trip to the doctor or emergency room, you will most likely be given a treatment plan for your injuries.
As part of that treatment plan, you will have to follow up appointments with your doctor.
You should follow your doctor's instructions step by step and attend every appointment.
If you skip out on the appointments, your injuries could get worse, and you could develop additional complications.
Be sure to take note of any other symptoms that do develop, so you can tell your doctor about them when you do go back.
The follow-up appointments will also need to be documented so they can be used as part of your personal injury case.
Your treatment plan and follow up appointments will give you a pretty good idea of when you can go back to work.
If you neglect your treatment plan and doctor appointments, there will be a variety of consequences.
You will likely lengthen the time before you can go back to work, risk reinjury, and make it difficult to receive compensation for your injuries.
Don't Force Yourself To Go Back To Work Too Soon
There isn't a set deadline you will be able to follow when deciding when it is time to go back to work, so you should be careful not to force yourself to go back too soon.
You will probably be worried about your job or the loss of income, but it is important to focus on your recovery and getting better.
Going back to work before you are ready is a good way to re-injure yourself or to keep yourself from healing completely.
Going back to work too soon can also impact the compensation you receive for your accident.
It is always best to follow the advice of your doctor and not to rush things.
Document Everything
If you can, immediately after the accident, you should write down what you are feeling physically and mentally.
Reporting that information to your doctor could make it easier for them to determine the scope of your injuries and give you a proper diagnosis.
When you start to recover, make sure you are still documenting everything.
This will help your doctor decide when you are ready to go back to work.
If you experience any complications, document them, but bring them up with your doctor as soon as possible.
Get Your Doctor's Note
Your doctor's note is your ticket back to work, or a ticket to miss even more work.
It's essential to have proof of your injuries for your employer.
This will excuse the time you've missed, but it will help you and your employer decide what you can do as soon as you get back.
Be sure your doctor's note includes documentation of your injuries, relevant test results and x-rays, records of your follow up appointments, and the recovery plan you've followed through on.
This will prove to your employer your time off was a medical necessity.
Take Your Time
Car accidents are traumatic events, and they should be taken seriously.
If you've been injured in a car accident, and you aren't sure when you will be able to return to work, and you're worried about your financial situation because of it, you need the help of an experienced attorney.
The team at the Car Wreck Doctor can put you in contact with the best attorneys in your area so that you can begin your road to recovery, both physically and financially.
Click the button below to get started.