How to Handle a Work Injury
Have you recently suffered a work injury? Not sure what you should do if you get injured on the job?
While it’s best to stay as safe as possible while working, accidents do happen from time to time. It’s important to know what to do after an accident or injury occurs, to ensure that you get adequate compensation and are taken care of.
Here’s how you need to handle a workplace injury.
1. Tell a Supervisor About the Injury
The first thing you’ll want to do after suffering a workplace injury is to tell a supervisor exactly what happened. Even if your injury seems small at first, you should tell a supervisor right away. You’ll need to file a workplace accident report to ensure that you can receive workers’ compensation.
You should also raise any safety concerns with your supervisor if needed if there is something that could have prevented the problem. Notifying your employer of the accident and filing an accident report is essential, so make sure that you don’t skip this step.
2. Get Medical Help
Another thing that will be important to do very quickly after you have an accident is to get medical help from professionals. You need to seek medical treatment immediately and find out the full extent of the injuries you’ve suffered.
If it’s an emergency, you should go to the emergency room. Otherwise, you may want to ask if your employer wants you a see a doctor of their choice. However, even if you see the doctor your company recommends, you’re entitled to a second opinion under worker’s comp laws as well.
Depending on the nature of your injury, you’ll likely need ongoing medical support and treatment. You’ll need to find reliable medical professionals who can help you manage your pain and recover as quickly as possible.
By getting medical care after an accident, you’ll be able to recover from your injuries and you’ll also have the best chance of getting adequate compensation from a workers’ comp claim. It will also help ensure that your employer is made aware of what limitations you may have after the injury.
3. Record the Details Of What Happened
As soon as possible after an accident, you should gather evidence and write down the details of what happened. Keeping a record of what happened along with all of the relevant details can be a big help when filing a workers’ comp claim and getting compensation for your accident.
A few things you’ll want to write down include the location of the accident, the date and time that the accident occurred, and a list of witnesses who saw what happened. You should also write down all of the details about what happened, what you were doing, and how the accident occurred.
4. Hire a Lawyer
If you suffered a serious injury while on the job, it can be helpful to hire a lawyer. A personal injury lawyer can help to fight for your worker’s comp claim and will help you ensure you get the compensation that you need and deserve.
Worker’s comp insurance adjusters will often try to find a way to deny your claim or reduce the number of benefits that you’ll get. By having a lawyer on your side to fight for you, you’ll have the best chance of filing a claim and getting what you need.
A lawyer can help with a variety of things related to your claim and can help gather evidence, navigate the laws regarding your claim, and negotiate on your behalf.
5. File a Claim
As soon as you can after your accident, you’ll want to file a workers’ comp claim. Workers’ compensation should cover your injuries and will give you the compensation you need to deal with medical expenses.
Keep in mind that while an accident or injury can lead to you filing a claim, there are other reasons why you may want to file a claim as well. Sometimes conditions that develop over time can be covered by workers’ comp if they’re a result of the work you perform. For example, back injuries are common but may develop slowly over time before the need to file a claim arises.
6. Start Monitoring Your Expenses
Once you’ve been injured at work, you need to start tracking your expenses and recording anything you have had to pay for as a result of your injuries.
You’ll want to track any expenses that relate to getting medical treatment. You should also monitor expenses for travel, such as fuel costs for taking your vehicle to a hospital or medical office.
In addition to this, you should track how many days you’ve missed from work as a result of your injury. You should receive weekly payments for weekly wage replacement after you’re out of work for an extended amount of time.
All of these records can help when getting compensation. They can be also helpful for your lawyer when they’re trying to get you the money you deserve.
7. Talk to Your Employer About Safety Issues
If the accident you had at work could have been prevented, it’s a good idea to speak to your coworkers and your employer about what happened. You have the right to speak up about safety issues, so you can encourage your employer to take steps towards remedying any safety issues that there are in the workplace.
While it may be too late for you to avoid your injury, by taking steps towards opening up a dialogue and being honest about your concerns, you may help prevent future accidents from occurring to you or your coworkers.
Successfully Handling a Work Injury With These Tips
If you experience a work injury, make sure that you take action immediately. You should always follow the above tips if you’ve been injured while on the job.
Are you looking for help with recovery and pain management after an injury? Contact us today to learn more about how Complete Injury Management can help.
