Things can escalate quickly if an employee gets injured on the job. Depending on the reason, they might think of pursuing legal action if deemed necessary. Since you’re the employer, it’s your job to know what to do in case one of your workers experiences an injury at the workplace.
Before your employee decides to get an injury lawyer and take legal action against you, you need to make sure you take proper action yourself. Here are 7 steps to take when you find yourself in this difficult situation.
- Be Ready
The first thing you should know is that you should be ready for any situation. This means that in the event a worker gets injured, you should have some first-aid kits ready. As such, you’ll be able to help your employee and reduce the severity of the situation.
Other than that, you should make sure that proper training is offered to the employees before they start working, so incidents are reduced.
- Request Medical Aid
Of course, the logical thing to do after someone gets injured at work as an employer is to get medical help. While small injuries like scraps and small cuts might only require some first aid, more severe injuries will require you to call for medical aid. Otherwise, you would endanger the worker and be at risk of a lawsuit.
- Be Quick to Respond
After an incident, you should immediately get anyone out of the way and analyze the area and its surroundings. It will help you discover what caused the accident in the first place, and it will also help you ensure nobody else will get injured.
- Get As Many Facts as Possible
You need to get multiple facts about the injury, even if your worker says they are okay. You should always document yourself and get testimonies from witnesses if any. Review potential videos of the scene, and take pictures. Keep this evidence of the incident in case any disputes occur. The victim should also give a statement about what happened just in case there are any symptoms after a while.
- Workers’ Compensation
Whenever an injury happens in the workplace and it involves an employee, the employee has every right to file a claim. As the employer, you have to give them a claim form, and also report the injury to the workers’ compensation insurance company. Also, you have to complete the Employer’s Report of Accident form that shows your view of what happened. Afterward, give the claim form to a claims administrator.
- Communicate with Your Employees
Make sure that you talk to your other employees after the incident, as they might be worried after someone gets injured. Of course, you shouldn’t share any medical information regarding the injured worker with them, but help the other workers calm down and answer their questions.
Perhaps you will come up with solutions on how to improve things.
- OSHA Requirements
Any serious injury or illness, as well as the death of a worker has to be reported to the closest Department of Occupational Safety and Health district office if it happened in the workplace.
Even if the injury is small, it has to be documented.
Final Thoughts
Knowing what to do in case an employee gets injured is your responsibility as the employer. Hopefully, this article helped you prepare for potential incidents.