No matter how careful and prepared you are in your workplace, accidents can still happen, and serious injuries can be commonplace. You may always hope that it will never happen to you, but if it does, there are steps you need to take on the road to recovery, and to ensure you maintain everything which is entitled to you during the process.
Immediate Treatment for Your Injury Should Be Your Main Priority
Depending on how severe your injury is, this could be heading straight for a first-aid kit or summoning professional help to deal with your injuries. In some cases, you may not know the extent of your injuries, and if you have taken a heavy fall or feel as though you have suffered serious damage, the main thing to do is to avoid moving until adequate help can be brought to you, as movement may make any injury considerably worse.
Once the injury has been attended to in the first instance, you can then decide whether further treatment is necessary, such as a trip to hospital or whether you need a medical evaluation.
Make the Relevant Reports
You should make an official record of your accident to any relevant party, whether this be a colleague or manager, whenever you are able and when it is safe to do so. Your workplace may have an official policy in place regarding how to report an accident or injury, or if you are in doubt, you should ask your manager for the official procedure. Every workplace should have an accident book to record such incidents, so this will need to be filled out.
Take Note of Every Detail
If an accident is particularly severe, it’s common to be unable to remember key details due to the shock. Yet it’s important, where possible, to make a note, even if this is a quick diary entry after the incident, of what happened and how it happened. This can be crucial information later on if you do need to go ahead and make a claim, and this can be valuable information provided to an injury attorney if you need to appoint one. Deaton Law are qualified for any workplace injury claim, and can offer advice for your circumstances.
Keep a Record of Expenses and Losses
Even if you only had to miss one day of work due to your injury, it still counts as income you have missed due to an accident which wasn’t your fault. This is all relevant information when you seek compensation for your injury to ensure you are paid for any missed payments and gain the financial amount owed to you.
Submit an Official Complaint or Grievance if Applicable
This is dependent on the circumstances of the accident. If your injury was caused purely by chance with no blame owed to your employer or the standards within the workplace, then a grievance will not be necessary. However, if your injury came as a direct result of inadequate training, faulty equipment or health and safety procedures being incorrectly followed, then you will want to make a complaint to your employer to ensure it does not happen again.