The last thing a person who has been in an accident can think of is to worry about their work and how they will resume their job. The instant pain of the accident forces the person to focus on the process of healing and avoid thinking about anything else.
However, overthinking is a common habit that many people suffer from. This habit encourages thinking about work and creating imaginary scenarios that might occur if they resume work or take days off. For this reason, we have developed a simplistic guide to help you understand if resuming work after a personal injury will be harmful or beneficial to you.
How Long Can You Take Off From Work After An Injury?
Taking off from work directly depends on the severity of your injury. Since the majority of the physical injuries are serious and demand rest, taking time off is essential for the victim. Let’s find out how long you can take time off from work before you should resume work.
- Injuries Often Do Not Appear Immediately
In many accidents, there are underlying injuries that do not appear immediately. This is why it is recommended to wait for the average 3-day adrenaline rush to settle down and then notice the number of injuries and their severity to determine when you should resume work.
- How Do Your Decisions Related To Work Affect Your Insurance Claims?
According to many people, taking time off work or resuming work can hurt their insurance claim. Despite this being true in some exceptional cases, this doesn’t affect your overall claim. An insurance claim is primarily dependent on the effects of the accident, and the compensation provided is according to the damages. The betterment of the victim’s health doesn’t majorly contribute to weakening the injury claims.
- Value Your Subjective Pain and Suffering
The threshold for withstanding pain and suffering is different for everyone. This is why you need to discuss your condition with the employer directly to ensure that your situation is understood without any misconceptions.
Personal injury cases are often rumored to be spoiled by resuming work as people think their insurance claims can be deemed void due to their ability to resume work. However, based on the legal information provided by the professionals at Pines & Goldenzweig, PLLC, it is clear that this is nothing but a misunderstanding. The injury claims are solely dependent on the effects of the incident, and they cannot be weakened by the rate of recovery of the victim.
Physiological Healing Stages
Healing from a physical injury can be a series of long and consistent efforts. Injuries can disrupt both the body’s internal systems and its delicate cellular functions. This is why the healing process is divided into several stages.
- Initial Inflammation
The initial process of forming blood clots in the injured area leads to inflammation. The body wants its blood platelets to reach the exposed area of injury and initiate the process of tightening the muscles around the injured area.
- Regaining Strength
Tissue regeneration indicates the injury’s recovery process and helps the body regain lost strength. As the injured individual begins to feel a change and observes recovery, the thoughts of resuming work or approaching the injury claim become aggressive
Benefits of Returning to Work
Returning to work after a personal injury is always a struggle. However, according to health experts, it can help the injured individuals in improving their healing process. Here are some of the most common health benefits of returning to work.
- Helps You Avoid Anxiety And Depression
A vacant mind and no work can easily trigger anxiety or depression, especially for a person who is habitual of working around the clock. Although the support from friends and family can help you get through the pressing times of your injury, the workplace environment helps in changing the mood and not thinking about the injury.
- Physical Activity Serves As A Catalyst In Recovery
When resting at home, people are likely to be relaxing and refraining from any physical movements. The lack of activity and movement can be extremely disadvantageous for an injured person. However, the workplace allows you to perform movements that help you regain lost strength and improve your rate of recovery.
Since returning to work is a difficult decision for many individuals suffering from any kind of personal injury, support from their employers eases the process. Debunking the misconception of your insurance claim being affected by your approach towards resuming work will help you make a decision that is more suitable for your health.