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A work injury case

If you have experienced an accident during your working hours, it is a work injury, even if the accident is not directly caused by your workplace.

The accident will be covered by the law about occupational Injury, and your employer's occupational-injury-insurance will cover your claim for damages, regardless of whether your employer can be blamed for your injury. Your employer is obligated by law to have such an insurance.

If the accident is caused by someone else's mistake or neglect, for example. your employer, a colleague or a third party, you can also make a claim against them.

The injuries that can be recognized as occupational injuries can be both physical and mental injuries; and if there is a correlation between the accident and the damage, you will usually receive compensation under the law.

The employer must report the occupational injury to the Labour Market Insurance (Arbejdsmarkedets Erhvervssikring), who then sends a confirmation that an injury has been reported to the injured party. If you do not receive a confirmation within 9 days, you can assume that the damage has not been reported.

"The damage can be reported within 1 year by you or your doctor.

https://www.aes.dk/english

According to the law, there is a reporting period of 1 year from the time of the occupational accident, but it is important that the case be notified immediately, while the conditions surrounding the occupational accident are still in remembrance.

The Labour Market Insurance will then process the case, investigating whether an accident is covered by the law and whether the injured person is entitled to a loss of damages. Occupational Safety and Health Insurance will keep the employer's insurance company informed about the case and its results, but often the employer will not be directly involved in the proceedings.

The processing time of the Labour Market Insurance may be long, which is also due to the fact that in most situations it will take some time before medical assessment can be made of whether an injury has caused lasting consequences.

The Labour Market Insurance collects all relevant information about your medical and income conditions before and after the occupational injury. They may also ask you to be examined by one or more specialist doctors.

Remember to document your injury

In general, following a occupational injury, it is of the utmost importance that you continuously document the accident and injury. This means that you must ensure that you get to a doctor, specialist physician, physiotherapist, etc., partly to be treated for your injuries, but also so that you can subsequently prove that you, for example, has been incapacitated for a long period of time. If possible, take some photos of the site where the damage occurred, knowing what happened and why, it can help the case later.

Be aware that the doctor notes your injuries and symptoms in the journal, even though you do not expect them to last for long. If later it appears that your injuries are permanent, you can show that the injuries have been "from the start" and thus due to the occupational accident. 

You should also try to gather information and documentation about the accident. You can do that for example by asking for your employer's notes about the accident or by gathering information about the employer's subsequent handling of the occupational accident, for example information to safety committees, etc. You can also secure phone numbers of any witnesses.

Compensation for work injuries is very complicated stuff and you should contact your trade union for help and support. https://tema.3f.dk/bjmfimmigrant/about-the-union