If you guess wrong here, you can lose wage benefits, medical care, and key evidence before the case even starts.

Yes - if your injury happened at work and you're afraid your Santa Fe employer will fire you, cut your hours, or push you out, talk to a lawyer now, not later. That is especially true if the injury is serious enough that living alone is getting harder, or if your boss is telling you not to report it.

The next question you should be asking is: what should that lawyer do in the first week, and how much will it cost?

In New Mexico, you generally must give your employer notice of a work injury within 15 days. If the claim turns into a formal case, it usually goes through the New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration. Retaliation for pursuing workers' comp can create a separate legal problem for the employer, but timing and proof matter.

A good lawyer should move fast to:

• lock down the report of injury, witnesses, texts, schedules, and payroll records
• explain whether you have only a workers' comp claim or also a third-party injury case
• tell you who is paying fees and when

For a regular injury case, many lawyers charge a contingency fee of about 33% to 40% if money is recovered. In a New Mexico workers' comp case, attorney fees are handled differently and often require approval in the system, so ask that question up front.

Red flags: pressure to sign immediately, no clear fee explanation, no discussion of retaliation evidence, or no plan for preserving records if your hours suddenly drop.

You may not need a lawyer if the injury is minor, the employer reported it promptly, treatment is authorized, and no one is threatening your job.

If this happened in a crash while working - for example on Cerrillos Road during spring motorcycle season or in dawn/dusk sun glare traffic - ask whether the lawyer handles both the work claim and the claim against the at-fault driver.