Suing for Damages in a Personal Injury Case

After a workplace injury, you might feel compelled to get right back to work. This could especially be the case if you don't have any sick days left and staying home would cost you financially. However, you might want to think twice about this strategy. Should you be interested in hiring a workers' compensation attorney and pursuing legal action, going right back to work could be detrimental to your eventual case. Here are three reasons that avoiding work is your best strategy at this point.

It Suggests The Legitimacy Of Your Injury

If you're hurt at work but then return the next day, it's easy for your company to think that your injury was minor and has now healed, even if this isn't the case. While it's true that your symptoms may seem minor at first but get worse over time, there's little question that getting right back to work can suggest that you aren't actually injured. If you return to work promptly, you can guarantee that when you pursue legal action, your company's attorneys will bring up the fact that you returned to work — and your employers may also indicate that you seemed fine. All of this can make it more difficult for your attorneys to win your case.

Your Employer May Coerce You Into Acknowledging That You're Fine

Employers are rightfully concerned when an employee gets injured on the job — not necessarily about the employee's health, but rather about facing legal action. If you get back to work right away, your employer may start to dig about how you're feeling and whether you'll be hiring a workers compensation attorney or not. The employer may attempt to coerce you into saying that you won't take legal action or, in more extreme scenarios, may even have you sign a memorandum to this effect. When you stay away from work, you'll avoid this difficult situation.

You Could Tip Your Hand About Taking Legal Action

You don't need to let your employer know that you're pursuing legal action in the wake of your workplace injury until you actually do so. Perhaps you haven't hired an attorney yet, but you're thinking about taking legal action. If you slip up and mention this to your employer or even to a colleague who reports this information, the employer will have more time to prepare a legal case that refutes your claims. Conversely, if you stay home, work with an attorney to prepare a case, and have the attorney present the case, the timing will be to your advantage.