The Steps to Take After Being Injured at Work

As much as you want to believe you will be as safe at work as you are at any other time, there is always the chance that you will suffer an injury at some point. This injury may be your fault; it may be someone else’s, or it may be a total freak accident that no one could have predicted. 

Your immediate reaction is to panic, as you would with any injury regardless of how severe. You also consider wage prospects. Can you afford the time off? How much time will you need? Will your insurance cover the medication and treatment? 

But panicking does not begin to solve the problem. Instead, there are steps you must take that will guide you through the correct procedures to ensure you can get treated and get back to work as soon as possible. 

Identify the Problem

After suffering the injury, you must first identify the issue to determine the severity. It could be that it is a minor cut, bruise, or scratch. However, depending on your work environment, it could be much worse. 

Even if the injury is not evident immediately, you should still take some time to assess your condition, and some issues are not apparent directly following the accident. Knowing how minor (or not so) the injury helps you to decide whether a trip to the hospital is in order or not. 

Common Workplace Injuries

There are several common workplace injuries you could experience. These are: 

• Muscle strains
• Slips, trips, or falls
• Repetitive strain
• Crashes or collisions
• Falling objects
• Cuts, bruises, or scratches

Get Treatment

With the problem identified, you can then move onto treating it. Your workplace first aider can administer treatment for smaller injuries, but if it is a bone break or worse, then you should get to the hospital as quickly as you can. 

The faster you receive treatment, the quicker your injury can be fixed, and you can also discover any other issues that could have been caused by the accident that are not immediately apparent. From here, you can receive the proper medication as well as an idea of the amount of time you need to take off work, if any, before getting back to the office or worksite. 

Tell Somebody

After an injury, everything seems to move at a hundred kilometers a minute, so it’s natural to miss the chance to inform your supervisor or manager about what happened. However, you must complete the accident form as quickly as you can, whether that’s while waiting to go to the hospital or waiting in the emergency room. Likewise, if the injury doesn’t require professional medical attention, you can go to the break room and fill it out there. 

Informing the necessary people is crucial as it gives them an idea of what happened, and it also prevents you from losing out on any worker’s compensation benefits that could be offered. In some places, you only have 30 days to file an incident report before it becomes irrelevant. 

Get Compensation

The compensation part of a workplace injury is always tricky, but you don’t want to miss out on this compensation if it was not your fault. Get in touch with attorneys, work out who or what was at fault, and file it with the local Workers’ Compensation Board. In most places, you have two years to do this before it runs out. 

For example, if you suffered an injury working on the docks or in a shipyard, a maritime accident attorney can help you navigate the next steps for getting your compensation. There are other attorneys for other industries, too, so you can find the relevant persons to assist you. 

Take Your Time

You may be encouraged to get back to work as quickly as possible, but it’s important not to rush it, especially if there are any psychological ramifications of the accident. However, it’s also vital that you do not take too long, as this doesn’t reflect well on you and could hurt your position in the company. Only you will know when you are ready to return to the workplace, so allow yourself the appropriate time to recover. 

Getting Better

Getting injured on the job is never an enjoyable experience, and there is always stress regarding how it could affect your standing in the company. However, knowing the steps to take immediately following the injury will allow you to receive the necessary treatment, whether it’s a simple Band-Aid and dose of paracetamol or extended time off that will allow you to heal quickly and confidently.