Location: Michigan. So for some context i work at a well known chain restaurant and I’m a bartender. This happened either late February of this year or early March, I can’t currently remember. I was washing a n/a glass with a barmaid(we do wash n/a glasses we personally used, but this was a glass that a server mistakenly put on our bar grate that wasn’t used for a bar drink) and it split in two complete pieces and sliced my thumb open to the point where it wouldn’t stop bleeding for over an hour, and I went to the nearest er that I thought took my insurance but apparently does not. I didn’t need stitches but the process of them putting everything on me and wrapping me up and me having to do that to myself for about a month was very painful (I’d say about a 6 out of 10 and I’ve had three very long and painful surgeries before that). I didn’t file anything with my job because I thought they would pay for my medical bills since it happened at work, but that was not the case and I was not informed about that. I do not want to quit my job or hurt anyone I work with including my managers because I truly like them all. But I now have a scar and a slight indent in my thumb that does not match my natural skin tone, and I cannot use video game controllers or use my thumb where the scar is without a decent amount of pain. I genuinely have no idea what to do. I like my job and love my coworkers, but this is so stressful and painful.
Comments
This is exactly what workers comp is for. File a workers comp claim.
You need to file a workers comp claim. That’s exactly what it exists for.
In general, worker’s compensation is a “no-fault / sole-recourse” system.
The no-fault part means that it doesn’t matter if the server was negligent, or the barware was defective, or you were careless or clumsy, or if your employer set up the bar wrong or didn’t train you or bought the wrong detergent. There don’t have to be trials or statements or testimony or evidence. The worker just gets their medical expenses, lost wages, and permanent injuries compensated promptly.
The trade-off is that it’s a sole-recourse system. You can’t easily sue your co-worker, or the glassware vendor, or your employer if you are covered by workers compensation insurance.
>I didn’t file anything with my job because I thought they would pay for my medical bills since it happened at work, but that was not the case and I was not informed about that.
Take a step back and figure out how to file a worker’s compensation claim. Your manager should know how. If they don’t, escalate to their manager, up to the franchise owner.