A workplace brain injury can affect nearly every part of your life. In addition to headaches, dizziness, and physical pain, you may experience problems with memory, concentration, balance, sleep, communication, or mood. These symptoms can make it difficult to perform your job, follow instructions, drive, or manage ordinary daily responsibilities.
Brain injuries can also be difficult to evaluate because their full effects are not always immediately clear. You may initially believe you are dealing with a minor concussion, only to develop more serious symptoms in the days or weeks that follow.
If you suffered a head or brain injury while working in Iowa, workers’ compensation may provide medical care, wage replacement, and other benefits. Understanding what to do after the accident can help you protect both your health and your claim.
How Can a Head Injury Happen at Work?
Brain injuries can occur in almost any workplace. Common causes include:
- Falls from ladders, roofs, scaffolding, or elevated surfaces
- Slips and falls on wet, uneven, or cluttered floors
- Falling tools, pallets, building materials, or merchandise
- Motor vehicle accidents while driving for work
- Accidents involving machinery or heavy equipment
- Being struck by equipment, debris, or moving vehicles
- Explosions or other incidents involving sudden force
A worker does not need to lose consciousness to have suffered a serious head injury. Symptoms may begin immediately or become more noticeable over time.
What Workers’ Compensation Benefits May Be Available?
Workers’ compensation may cover reasonable and necessary medical care related to the brain injury. Depending on the circumstances, this could include emergency treatment, diagnostic testing, appointments with specialists, medication, rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, or cognitive therapy.
You may also qualify for benefits that replace part of your lost income. Temporary disability benefits may be available when the injury prevents you from working during your recovery. Partial benefits may apply if you can return to work but earn less because of reduced hours, modified duties, or medical restrictions.
When a brain injury causes lasting limitations, the claim may also involve permanent disability benefits. The benefits available will depend on the medical evidence, the extent of your impairment, your ability to work, and other circumstances surrounding the claim.
What Should You Do After Suffering a Head Injury at Work?
Seek medical attention promptly after any significant blow to the head. Symptoms such as confusion, nausea, headaches, dizziness, memory problems, blurred vision, unusual fatigue, or changes in behavior should not be ignored.
Tell your medical provider that the injury happened at work and explain exactly what occurred. Clear medical documentation can become important if the insurance company later questions whether your symptoms were caused by the workplace accident.
You should also report the injury to your employer as soon as possible. Do not assume that a supervisor knows about the accident simply because it happened in front of coworkers. Follow your employer’s reporting procedure and keep a copy of any written accident report.
Continue attending appointments and following your treatment plan. Tell your doctors about new or changing symptoms, even when they seem unrelated. Brain injuries can affect people in different ways, and your medical records should accurately reflect the problems you are experiencing.
Keep copies of medical documents, work restrictions, correspondence from the insurance company, and records showing the time you missed from work. It may also help to keep notes about symptoms that affect your daily activities.
What Happens if Your Injury Prevents You From Returning to Work?
Some workers recover and eventually return to their previous positions. Others continue to experience limitations that make their former work difficult or unsafe.
A brain injury may interfere with your ability to remember procedures, concentrate for long periods, communicate clearly, respond quickly, manage stress, or safely operate machinery. Even when you appear physically recovered, cognitive symptoms may prevent you from performing the same duties you handled before the accident.
Your doctor may place temporary restrictions on your work or recommend that you remain off work entirely. If your employer offers modified duties, the work should be consistent with your medical limitations.
When your condition becomes permanent, determining your future ability to work may require more than a basic medical examination. Your claim may involve neurological evaluations, functional testing, permanent restrictions, or an assessment of how the injury affects your employment options.
The insurance company may dispute whether you can return to work or whether your ongoing symptoms are related to the accident. Medical documentation and a clear understanding of your job duties can be especially important in resolving these disagreements.
How Can a Workers’ Compensation Attorney Help?
Brain injury claims can become complicated when symptoms are difficult to measure, the employee cannot return to the same job, or the insurance company disputes the need for treatment.
A workers’ compensation attorney can review the accident, explain which benefits may be available, and help you comply with important notice and filing requirements. Your attorney can also communicate with the insurance company, gather medical evidence, evaluate proposed work restrictions, and address disputes involving treatment or disability benefits.
When someone outside your employer caused the accident, an attorney can investigate whether you also have a third-party personal injury claim. Identifying all potentially responsible parties may be especially important when a brain injury creates long-term medical needs or permanently affects your ability to earn a living.
Contact Loney & Schueller, LLC
You should not have to manage a complicated workers’ compensation claim while recovering from a serious brain injury. Loney & Schueller, LLC represents injured workers in Des Moines and throughout Iowa, helping them understand their rights and pursue the benefits available under the law.
If you suffered a head or brain injury at work, contact Loney & Schueller, LLC to discuss what happened and learn more about your options.
