Statistics show that there were over 4,700 fatal workplace injuries in 2020. While most injuries in the workplace do not result in death, it is a possibility when safety is compromised. Have you ever experienced a workplace injury? Do you know what steps to take if you are injured at work? Who can help you get the medical and financial help that you need to navigate the injury? Keep reading to learn more about what you need to do after an injury.
Tell Someone
When you get injured, the first step you must take is to tell someone. Ideally, this will be a supervisor or manager. If they are not immediately available, alerting one of your coworkers that you have sustained an injury can allow them to contact the right person to get help. This person will also be important later on as the first person that you shared the information about your injury. If your injury is severe, this person may be able to help with giving you medical attention until an ambulance or EMT arrives to take over.
Get Medical Help
Once you have told someone about your injury, it is important to get the correct medical treatment right away. If the injury includes broken skin and bleeding, time is extremely important to prevent additional medical issues as a result of the blood loss. Going directly to an emergency room can help you get the answers of what your injuries are and how it can be treated moving forward. There are great workers compensation doctors in Florida that can help you navigate this scary and uncertain time.
Write Down the Information
Once your injury is under control, begin writing down every detail. This will be important for your employer and lawyer to view later. Explain exactly what led to the injury and every event that happened once it occurred. Every person who helped and anyone who refused to help should be listed. It is important to write this information down as soon as it is safe to do so. This will help ensure that facts are as accurate as they can be in the immediate aftermath of the event.
File a Worker’s Compensation Claim
By this time, you are likely aware of what your injury is and are now in stable condition. With the information you have, you can start the process of filing your worker’s compensation claim. This is a key step in gaining any compensation from the injury and the time off that may be needed to recover from it. Businesses typically have a process that their human resources department will walk through with you so that the paperwork is done completely for both parties.
Find a Lawyer
You likely will find it difficult to go through the legal process of this case alone. Even lawyers themselves find it necessary to hire other lawyers when accidents and injuries occur. Hiring a lawyer that specializes in this area can help take the stress off of you during your recovery process. Making sure that they have the experience to handle the case will help it be a more efficient process.
Communicate Your Symptoms
In the days and weeks after your injury, it is important to keep track of your symptoms and share them with your employer. At a certain point in your recovery, your physical health may be close to normal but your mental health could be impacted. Failing to report any symptoms that you are currently having could cause your return to work to be earlier than it should be and not the best decision for your health.
Start A Conversation To Make Changes
This step depends on the type of injury that you sustained at work. If there are safety concerns that need to be addressed as a result of your injury, this step will be very important. Your employer will want to prevent future injuries and will be looking for ways to do that. Coming prepared with ideas of how this could be done can be a beneficial start to the conversation. You never know how your injury could impact the future of how your company handles certain processes or even redesign the area for safety reasons. Check out our website for more helpful articles like this one.
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