Everything you need to know in case of a workplace injury

Even though we might not be thinking about them until they happen, workplace injuries are in fact quite a common occurrence at many jobs. Some jobs carry certain specific risks, such as a vehicle or machine-related potential injuries, but we are also in danger of some unpredictable everyday accidents such as different slips, trips and twists. These can happen both at home and work. However, if these do occur at a workplace, in most cases, both the employee and employer aren’t sure about what exactly they need to do and what is expected of them. Besides the obvious things, such as going to the doctor’s, making sure that everyone is fine and determining the cause of injury, there is a certain amount of daunting paperwork to be done. In order to be ahead of the potential problem, learn about proper responding to workplace injuries.

1. Provide first aid and have a medical check-up

Handling workplace injuries is certainly not the most pleasant thing to deal with, but unfortunately, it is something that can easily happen to everybody, so it’s would be a good idea to be prepared for it. When an injury happens, the first thing we need to do is to provide first aid and call an ambulance if necessary. This will highly depend on the type of injury. In some cases, it’s obligatory to have a first aid kit in your company, while in others might not be. In any case, it would definitely be a benefit having it. In this way, you can provide immediate help to the injured person. In more serious cases, where medical help is needed, you should call an ambulance or take the person to the nearest hospital. Whatever the severity of the injury, you should always ask for a medical check-up in order to check if everything is fine.

2. Reach an agreement with the injured person

This is the next crucial step. After the injured person is treated, you should talk with them. The aim of this talk is to determine the cause of the accident in question and perhaps to discuss some possible measures for preventing any future injuries from happening. You should try to reach a mutual solution to the problem. On the other hand, if you don’t discuss this as an employer with your employee, and instead leave everything to the insurance companies to handle, there can be some problems. These problems might compromise your working relationship.

3. Deal with the paperwork

Even though dealing with paperwork is daunting, it has to be done. It is simply something that goes together with an injury. There are some responsibilities both on the side of the employer and employee. The employer should provide a claim to the employee, which the latter one has to fill out and file. This is the legal right of every employee – seeking out compensation from their insurance company. Even though this kind of compensation doesn’t deal with whose fault the injury was, you should find out what information they look for. Hiring a work injury lawyer would surely help you out in providing all the necessary information and handling any arising questions and matters.

4. Determine the cause of the injury in order to prevent future ones from happening

An important aspect when talking about workplace injuries is definitely determining the cause of the injury in order to prevent future accidents from happening. Although these injuries are certainly unpleasant, we should use them to learn something from them and not to repeat the same mistake all over. This is crucial as only by determining the cause, we can find and implement an appropriate solution. A proactive approach is key here. This also helps other employees as well, as they can rest assured that the cause of the injury has been eliminated and that they are safe at their workplace.

5. Handle the matter of insurance

The final step has to do with the matter of insurance. When you have done all the aforementioned steps, there is one more thing to be done. Once you have filed the claim, the insurance company has to decide on the compensation for your injury. It will vary from different factors such as the severity of the injury, its cause, the healing period and all the necessary treatments and medicine. The insurance company might also inspect to check if everything related to the injury adds up. They can also ask for an independent examination of the injury and its potential causes at the workplace. Everyone should cooperate readily in order to close the matter as soon as possible. Sometimes these things take a while to complete.

Some things are simply unavoidable in life, they are bound to happen to a smaller or bigger extent. There are some things we can do to protect ourselves and the people around us, however, some accidents and injuries happen regardless of all the necessary precautions being taken. We need to know how to deal with them in order to achieve the best possible outcome.

Mike is an Australian business consulting specialist. He’s working with companies that outsource their IT maintenance. He often writes about technology, business and marketing and is a regular contributor on several sites.