Yes - and the mistake that costs people the most money is letting a Barre employer push them onto their own health insurance first. If the injury happened at work, Vermont workers' comp is supposed to pay for reasonable medical treatment and wage benefits, and you are generally allowed to choose your own medical provider for treatment.

What you need to prove it is straightforward:

• Written notice of the injury to your employer as soon as possible
• A doctor's note saying the injury is work-related
• The provider's chart notes, work restrictions, and billing records
• Any texts, emails, or voicemails where the boss says "use your own insurance" or tells you not to file
• A copy of the employer's First Report of Injury if they filed it, or proof they refused

In Vermont, the employer should report a work injury to the Vermont Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation Division. If your boss in Barre won't do that after, say, a missing machine guard injury or a fall on a jobsite, save your proof and contact the Division yourself.

Tell your doctor on day one that this is a work injury, not a regular health-insurance visit. Ask the office to clearly write: how the injury happened, the body parts hurt, work restrictions, and whether the job caused or aggravated it. That sentence is what insurers fight over.

If the carrier denies treatment because they claim it was your fault, that is not the same rule as a regular injury lawsuit. Vermont workers' comp is generally no-fault. The 51% comparative fault bar applies to third-party claims, not basic comp benefits.

Also keep mileage logs to appointments and every out-of-pocket receipt. During tax season, that paper trail matters when medical debt starts stacking up fast.