When you are injured at work, your workers' compensation attorney will advise you to do several things. First and foremost, make sure you get all of the related documentation needed to assess your situation. (Your attorney cannot help you if he or she cannot see the documentation of your injuries first.) After you have provided documentation, your lawyer will probably advise you to do one or more of the following in order to determine the seriousness of your injury.
See a Physical Therapist
If your injury is accompanied by any amount of pain that does not go away with an over-the-counter pain reliever, you should see a physical therapist. Not only will this help you deal with the pain on a physical level, it will also show the severity and extent of your injuries to the judge. Ongoing treatment and recommendation of treatment therapies will also support your claim that your injury is quite serious.
See an Occupational Therapist
Ask your doctor about seeing an occupational therapist. The occupational therapist can establish whether or not your injury is serious enough for disability benefits. This kind of therapist can also put you through a series of documented tests to determine if you are still capable of doing the same kind of work you were doing before you were injured. The occupational therapist usually works in percentages too, determining how disabled you are versus how abled you are, which can also be very helpful in determining the seriousness of your injury and what types of workers' compensation you should pursue.
See a Mental Health Therapist
In the event that you lose a limb or lose the use of a limb, you may have some traumatic feelings or emotions about your injury. Seeing a mental health therapist or psychiatrist will help you deal with whatever you are feeling (e.g., anger, depression, feelings of inadequacy, etc.) as well as show a judge that you are having problems that cannot be seen just by looking at you. While a judge could see the loss of a limb or the loss of the use of a limb, he or she cannot know what you are going through internally, and as such you need to show him or her with the help of your mental health therapist. If you are not currently having any emotional or psychological issues about your injury, then a mental health therapist may be unnecessary.
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