4 THINGS TO DO RIGHT AFTER YOU GET HURT AT WORK IN VERMONT

What are the first things to do if you get hurt at work in Burlington, Williston, Montpelier, Saint Albans -- or any town in Vermont?

Here are four important things to do after a workplace injury:

1. Report the work injury to a supervisor or boss as soon as possible so that they can report the work injury to the Vermont Department of Labor. Vermont law says every employer must report a work injury within 72 hours to the Vermont Department of Labor by filing a "First Report of Injury" form.

2. Get medical care for the injury and take care of your injury!

3. If you are unable to work due to the work injury, get your doctor to write a note saying that your cannot work, and include in the doctor note how long you are unable to work due to the work injury. Give a copy of this out of work note to your employer and keep a copy for yourself.

4. Payment of wage or "TTD" benefits (Temporary Total Disability benefits): If you are out of work due to a work injury for 3 days or more, the employer's worker's compensation insurance company will owe you TTD benefits which are temporary wage replacement payments paid by the insurance company while you are unable to work from a work injury.

The employer or insurance company shall file a Wage Statement (Form 25) and a Certificate of Dependency and Concurrent Employment Form (Form 10). The amount of TTD benefits you are entitled is determined by looking at the wages you earned before your work injury as reported on the Wage Statement that your employer fills in and based on the number of children you have. Be sure that the wage statement includes all your wages, bonuses, over-time and compensation so you can get the correct amount of TTD benefits.