Employees and Employer Responsibilities for Handling Workplace Injuries
An employee injury is nothing to laugh at. No matter how severe, an injury will throw a monkey wrench into the employer’s and employee’s lives.
In addition to the obvious medical issues, both employee and employer will need to complete a vast amount of paperwork. That’s why it’s imperative that, despite the initial inconvenience, both parties need to carry out a specific set of steps to ensure something like this will not happen again.
Table of Contents
Get Medical Treatment
The first action the employee needs to take following a workplace accident is to seek medical help. Leave nothing to chance. Medical help should be sought whether the employee has suffered a small cut or a severe injury like a fracture. The type of medical treatment depends on the type of injury or the location of the wound, even if the injury does not appear severe. The employer and employee must handle this situation in a timely and professional manner.
Reach an Agreement
After the employee has received treatment, they should sit down with the employer to discuss what happened. It’s important to find out how the incident occurred and how it could have been prevented. Talking the matter out one-on-one to ensure both parties have the chance to state their case and reach a solution together.
Prevent Future Injuries
After everything is taken care of, the employer should seal off the area where the injury occurred. The area where the injury needs to be sealed so that an inspection can be carried out to determine the cause of the incident and why it occurred. When the employer finds out what the problem was, they can take steps to prevent this type of incident does not happen again.
Complete the Necessary Paperwork
After the area is sealed off and an agreement has been made, you need to start working on the paperwork. An employee can file a claim, and the employer is obliged to inform them about their rights and provide them with the forms they need to complete for these benefits.
It’s important to find out exactly what goes into a claim. Generally, worker’s compensation does not look into fault. However, it does consider the injury severity. Withstand Lawyers, or other workplace injury attorney offices can handle these issues and offer in-depth explanations on these matters from both sides. They can also offer advice on entitlements so employees can avoid losing out on their potential benefits.
Handle the Insurance Matters
After filing the reporting paperwork and the insurance is processing the claim, both sides in the matter need to cooperate and provide the insurance company with the information they need to get the matter sorted. This process can take a long time, so make sure to do what you can to reduce the potential time frame.
Stay Safe
Injuries will happen. Probability shows us that eventually, an employee will have an accident, it’s not possible to prevent all workplace injuries. However, before and after the incident, what we do will ultimately define who you are as an individual. Make sure you do everything you can to ensure this process is handled with care and in accordance with your insurer’s protocol.
