Reporting Your Jones Act Injury

Reporting injuries are the most important thing an injured workers once a injury has occurred. When injured on the job most workers first thought (or hope) is that the injury is not serious. There can be embarrassment if the injury made the worker look bad especially if other workers are present. Then, there is the concern that the injury may put their job at risk. For these reasons and others, many workers fail to report injuries or minimize their pain. These are serious mistakes.

Some reportable injuries include:

• Losing sight, temporary or permanent.
• Fractures that do not include the fingers or toes.
• Ingestion or inhalation of substances.
• Hypothermia
• Shoulder, hip, knee or spine dislocation
• Burn to the eye or any penetrating injury related to chemicals or hot metal
• Electrical burn or shock leading to unconsciousness
• Exposure to harmful substance or asphyxia leading to unconsciousness

The right thing to do and what your company legally expects you to do is to immediately report injuries and your pain to your supervisor. You are expected and you should make a truthful report, not minimizing your pain or excusing the cause of the accident. If you honestly report your injury then you will get proper medical attention and your company will be less likely to terminate you when the truth does come out. Companies do not like liars, so tell the truth. This advice comes from the authors who are both Jones Act trial lawyers that represent only injured workers. The best thing for an injured worker to do is to tell the truth about how the accident occurred how much pain the worker is experiencing without any exaggeration one way or the other.

It is very important that you report injuries immediately. Delaying in reporting the injury can lead to lack of proper medical treatment and care that you deserve. Do not let someone else report that you were injured; you do it. The company will become suspicious, with good reason, if you fail to inform them that you were injured on the job. You may think that you will look better to the company if you do not report the accident or lie about the seriousness of your injury but this always comes back to hurt you.

Let Us Help You

No matter where you live, the lawyers and attorneys at the Ogletree Abbott Law Firm can help you get the help you need. If you would like, a lawyer or an attorney can contact you to answer your questions. There is no obligation and the initial phone call is always free of charge. Call toll free 1-800-Jones-Act (1-800-566-3722). You may send us an email. Call today and let us help you answer any questions you have about reporting injuries to your employer.