When an employee gets injured, it’s crucial that you quickly act on it and treat the injury as soon as possible. However, if it’s an emergency, you must call 911 immediately. Your employee is entitled to file a claim with your worker’s compensation insurance, also called worker’s comp, as long as the injury is work-related. It can help them acquire benefits such as medical treatment coverage.
So, if one of your employees is injured on the job, here are important steps you may want to follow:
Preparation is Key
This is the very first thing you need to keep in mind when it comes to protecting employees in case unexpected workplace accidents do happen. Fast response to this is not only to lessen the severity of a workplace injury but also to reduce the cost of how much the injury ends up.
Here are ways you can plan ahead by developing risk and response plants to lessen the risks and avoid workplace injuries. And that includes the following:
- Producing response plans for different accident types.
- Provide training for supervisors and employees about safety and emergency response plans.
- Always updating first-aid supplies and keeping them accessible.
- Maintaining records of emergency contacts for all employees.
- Appoint a safety officer for specific dangerous jobs.
The most ideal way for employers to deal with a potential injury at work is to lessen the hazards and risks, but they must also be prepared for the unexpected worst.
Always Review Your Emergency Plan
It’s important that you always review your emergency plan. Make sure you follow the steps outlined in your plan for injuries that are work-related injuries. But if you don’t have an emergency plan, it’s time that you create one because it’s best that you are ready for the worst to happen. The steps of your plan must be details for different emergencies, such as fires and accidents.
Immediately Respond To an Injury
When an accident or injury occurs, you want to make sure that you follow these steps as a business owner:
- Transfer all workers to a safer place. If there are any injured workers, move their way from an area if it’s dangerous and ensure that the rest of the employees stay clear.
- Inspect the situation. How serious is the injury? Identify what caused the accident, and assess carefully to make sure that no one else will get hurt.
- Help the injured immediately. If the employee only had minor cuts, small burns, and scrapes, then first aid may be all that’s required. However, for huge injuries, they have to be stabilized. Most people who get injured are not aware of the severity of it.
- Professional help is always recommended. It can reduce the risk of further injury, and emergency medical services must always be called if the injury requires much bigger work than first aid.
- Investigate for more information and gather evidence. Jot down all the relevant details while you can still correctly remember the incident and make sure you have witnesses for testimony. Maintain all the evidence of the accident like equipment, photos of the scene, and the like. This will be useful if they file for worker’s compensation insurance.
- Keep cool and don’t panic. When the injury happens, don’t be hysterical. There is a big difference between panic and preparedness. Relax and be calm after a worker is injured on the job because this can help lessen the severity of the injury of the employee and protect you from additional liability.
- Process paperwork. After an employee gets injured and he or she decides to get a compensation lawyer, the employer and the employee should work together to file a workers’ comp claim with the insurance provider of the company.
Be Well-Informed About The Actions You Need to Do When an Injury Becomes a Lawsuit
No employers like to be involved in a lawsuit. If ever the injured employee decides to sue you, you as an employer should still do your best to keep lines of communication open. If the litigated claims last for a long period of time, they will only get more expensive. You also need to work with your attorney and claims adjusters and share everything relevant to the case and event, such as any necessary documentation.
If you are able to set a claim early, it can help you avoid a costlier, lengthy lawsuit. Your liability insurance including the workers’ comp policies, in particular, can help pay your legal fees and other costs. As much as possible, it’s better that a worker’s comp claim can be settled without any litigation. And if you are prepared and follow several basic safety precautions, you can prevent the need to file a workers’ comp claim in the first place.