witness statements

[red1030]

Thank you Bad Boy...that means a lot to me.

[Tuffy]

I never did fill out an incident or accident report for my employeer as there was no specific incident or accident. But after being released to go back to work with restrictions and terminated because there were no positions my employer sent me one to fill out. DUH My attorney said send it to me and I will take care of it. My injury was an aggrivation of a previous back injury , and I had filled out one at that time. My employer denied it was a WC claim and my attorney had to file with WC, and it has sinse been accepted.

[red1030]

Hi Tuffy....I thought about what you said and then did some back tracking this afternoon to review the laws in New Jersey and in Illinosis. For New Jersey, I did find a statement that stated that an internal report such as an incident report did not have to be done. What has to be done is that the worker reports it to the Supervisor immediately and then the employer reports it to the IC which in turn is mandated by New Jersey Law to file an Employee first report of injury or illness to the Division of Workers Compensation.

Illinosis does something similar in that the supervisor must be notified and then the employer will notify the IC. In Illinosis however, the employer is required to file a report between the 15 - 25th of each month.

For aggravated injuries, it says that you should notify the supervisor as soon as you are aware of the issue. Then the same procedure would follow as described above. There had to be a report, maybe not an internal report but a report to the Industrial Commission as defined by your state. The more I read the more I believe that the report that you want to get your hands on is the report sent to the state. I could not down load the report because they wanted a password and ID, and of course I don't have one. As a result I don't know what is on Illinosis forms. Don't worry...it sounds like you are in good shape. I hope this helps to clear up any confusion I may have started.

[smoke1]

correct me if I'm wrong. I thought workers comp is no fault. When I got hurt. there was no real witness that saw it happen. But afterwards several people helped me before the medical help arrived. Just wondering about these witness statements you are all talking about. I was once told the only people there would be the attorneys and myself. After reading on here i'm not so sure about that. I wrote a story from day one. Will I be allowed to have that with me that day. i have everything in there from how I felt every week to how the company treated me. some things about how I got treated after looking back at it are just terrible. What happens if I get too teary eyed. I do have ptsd . just can't seem to get over. smoke

[red1030]

Hi smoke1...witness statements may be nice, but they probably will not be used in a hearing. All this depends on your lawyer and your state. Each state is different. I could not find your state listed to look up how it operates. I am sorry to hear about your illness. ptsd is very difficult to cope with. I was in the US Navy and have watched it happen to many young people. It is difficult. I wish you the best and if I can help, let me know how. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[punk]

Well put, both of you! Yes, Red...I do feel that you're going to be a wonderful asset to this forum. Bad Boy....well, let's just suffice it to say that....well, in some's eyes he's the WC God!! LOL I'll not go any further!! It's his perserverence to learn and help that helps us out the most!

Tweety, as far as witnesses goes....it's so different, depending on the state in which you live...kinda like everything else related to WC! Now, when my injury occurred there was someone in the room with me for the last half. My injury occurred over the course of about 20 minutes or so. Initially, I was alone trying to hold up a resident. When help finally arrived and lessened the 'load' (so to speak) is when I really felt the pain. I believe she heard the popping/tearing noise as well as she was entering the room. She filled out a witness report stating everything that she saw...including what was going on when she entered the room. Now, I don't have a copy of this...I'm fairly certain that my attorney does...if he doesn't he will...believe me!! LOL He's done his own set of interrogatories and request for production of documents as well as the IC's attorney. When I was trying to fill out the interrogatories I listed her and a couple of others as witnesses. They either witnessed the injury and incident, or they were witness to the pain and my body language and mechanics after this occured. My attorney and the opposing attorney did not summons anyone other than myself and the D.O.N. of the facility to the deposition. The only question the D.O.N. had to answer was her name and the spelling of. Same with my husband. I was the only one that they asked any questions to through the entire time!!
See, it can go many different ways. They may have even decided that what she witnessed wasn't pertinent enough to elaborate any further on. I don't care one way or another, personally. The gal that came to my aid is a tad bit ditsy and can't remember what she did 5 minutes ago!! So, basically she's of no use to anyone in the situation. I'm sure the D.O.N. told them the same thing. She's been a topic of discussion many times!! LOL And, no....we don't do it behind her back...she'll tell you...she doesn't have hardly and memory...short or long term!! The other witnesses weren't a part of the incident itself, so they may have just thought that I had them fill it out for nothing....but it was, as a matter of fact, a CYA type of thing!! LOL And that it did! Before I hired my attorney, when it first happened and was contacted by the WC adjuster she told me that she had it but couldn't figure out why I had them fill it out. When I explained it was to prove that I wasn't exaggerating my pain nor my body mechanics immediately after or the next day. She said that it wasn't a problem and that she appreciated my effort...it just wasn't necessary and that now was the time I should be worrying about getting better and nothing else...that my claim was accepted. I was one of the luckier ones in that my claim was accepted immediately, while on the phone with the adjuster. I'm forever greatful that it happened that way and not the way it sometimes goes. LOL (whew, sigh of relief)
Just ask for your attorney's guidance in this and you'll be fine.
Good luck!! Hope this helped...even a little!!

[Babebahn]

tweety00 Wrote:Could you please explain more ???
Does employer get them for you?
Does that mean they will have to go to court?
Anything else that you can think of ?




Please help out all the newbies

Tweety:
In my case, my employer got witness statements. They even had my supervisor write up a witness statement but she wasn't even there when I fell! None of the witnesses were asked to go to any court hearings at all...but I have heard of some that had to.

[1171]

smoke:
I'm not sure what your situation is but if there are no issues then the only thing that has to be given to the comp court is a copy of all records and any agreements. Testimony is not taken in every case. You probably have related most of the injury events to the doctors and as long as their reports are part of the record there should be no need for separate testimony or a statement from you.

[smoke1]

thanks for all your replies. If I did not mention before I'm from central Illinois. I am very careful how much I write down. Only cause I don't want my former employer to figure out who I am. Other employees told me be careful cause HR comes on here and looks around. I was burnt in an explosion. HR told OSHA it was mostly 1st degree burns. had 2nd and 3rd degree burns. I never remember ever being told about 1st degree burns. dr report said deep 2nd and 3rd degree. that is just 1 sample of how hr lies. I could go on. red if you want to email me please do so . smoke

[punk]

Smoke, yes you are correct. WC is in fact NO FAULT. That doesn't mean though that they won't try to place fault on someone, mainly the IW, for 'why' it happened. It seems that they inevitably try to find SOMETHING that you did that wasn't correct. From the way you handled the situation to the way you tie your shoes!!! That's just the way it is! Will they NEED the witness reports, probably not. Will they use them if they have it, probably not. Is it your responsibility to find out if they are needed, most certainly not!
As for your journal of the whole process, I say: Good for you!! Most of us don't think to form one until later on into the whole thing!! I'm proud of you!! That also helps with our ptsd I would imagine...to some degree or another. Am I right? I know it's helped me immensely (sp?)! You should be allowed to have it with you for your review. However, if you were to be on the stand and referring to it then I would imagine that the defense (IC) would want to enter it into evidence, per say, and then copies will be made for both sides to refer upon. I wouldn't take it with you on the stand if it goes that far with you. I would leave it at the table with your attorney, telling him what it is and to not bother it!!! LOL It's a piece of personal, private property that I (myself) wouldn't want to share with just anyone...mainly someone within the IC or their party, know what I mean? Use it for referral and that's it, don't quote it!!
That's my opinioin on the matter...I may be wrong and I'm sure someone will correct me if I am...but that's ok...we're all here to learn!! Anyone want to check me on that one? Please!!
Take care of yourself and welcome to our little world. You'll find that we're a very caring bunch, by nature!! Feel free to pop on at any time venting, asking ??'s, giving an opinion or even to tell a funny....we like funnies!!! You've come to the right place for opinions...you'll have them running out of your ears before long!!!
Good luck!

smoke1 Wrote:correct me if I'm wrong. I thought workers comp is no fault. When I got hurt. there was no real witness that saw it happen. But afterwards several people helped me before the medical help arrived. Just wondering about these witness statements you are all talking about. I was once told  the only people there would be the attorneys and myself. After reading on here i'm not so sure about that. I wrote a story from day one. Will I be allowed  to have that with me that day. i have everything in there from how I felt every week to  how the company treated me. some things about how I got treated after looking back at it are just  terrible.  What happens if I get too teary eyed. I do have ptsd . just can't seem to get over. smoke