If you’ve been injured in your workplace, then you may be wondering what steps you should take right after the accident. Typically, knowing the appropriate things to do can be crucial in navigating your legal options for the recovery of compensation. The more you’re aware of what should be done, the more you can protect your rights and interests from start to finish.
Keep reading this article to learn more about the four things to do after sustaining a workplace injury.
1. Seek Medical Help
When you’re involved in a workplace accident, your first priority should be to seek immediate medical attention for your injury. Even if your injury isn’t immediately apparent or you believe you’re not seriously injured, it’s essential to get yourself checked and treated to ensure your well-being. During the examination, the doctor will diagnose the type of injury you have and provide the necessary treatments for your fast recovery.
Moreover, when you get the right medical care, you’ll not only avoid turning your injury into something life-threatening but you’ll also be able to establish the fact that you were injured while at work through the use of medical records issued by the doctor.
2. Tell Your Employer
Once you’ve received the treatment for your injury, the next thing to do is to notify your employer about the accident. The sooner you make a notification, the better chances you have for recovering compensation for the injury that you suffered.
Also, when telling your employer, it’s best if you have it done in writing for recording purposes and have it submitted as well within the allowable time. That way, you can avoid losing your right to whatever compensation you may be entitled for.
3. Consult A Lawyer
Sustaining a workplace injury may entitle you to a right to recover compensation for all your losses. But just like other types of civil cases, dealing with work accident claims can be an overwhelming process. Hence, if you want to get the most out of your claim, one of the important things that you should do after getting injured at work is to consult and hire a lawyer. They’ll fight to protect your rights and will seriously pursue fair compensation on your behalf.
However, if you want to get compensated for your work-related injury, you may find a lawyer that will provide you the following options.
- Workers’ Compensation: This is an insurance program that aims to pay injured victims at work with wage replacement and medical benefits. To ensure a seamless grant of these benefits, it’s best to hire a workers’ compensation lawyer to guide you through the process.
- Personal Injury Lawsuit: In the event that your employer doesn’t have a workers’ compensation program, your other legal recourse is to file a personal injury lawsuit in court to obtain damages. This can be a good option if you believe your employer’s negligence has caused your workplace injury. However, you should work with a reliable personal injury lawyer to help you prove the liability of your employer on the ground of negligence. They can help you follow the procedural requirements and court processes required when filing personal injury cases.
As you can see, there are two options to keep in mind when you sustained a workplace injury. But, it’s essential to remember that choosing one option precludes you from availing of the other one. This means that once you choose to file a workers’ compensation claim, you’ll be waiving your right to bring an injury lawsuit in court. Because of this, you should consult your lawyer to help you make the right decision.
4. Do Proper Documentation
Whether you’re filing a workers’ compensation claim or an injury lawsuit, you must record everything related to the accident and the injury. That’s because having proper documentation about what happened can help you know if you can claim for a workplace accident. If it does, it can also help support your case, thereby increasing your chances of receiving fair compensation for your losses.
The following are the things that you should gather:
- Series of events that happened during the work-related accident
- Extent and severity of the injury
- Type of medical treatment you receive
- The way your injury responded to the treatment
- Names and other contact information of the witnesses to the accident
- Amount of time you’ve missed from work
- Correspondence you have with your employer
- Names of medical professionals your employer asked you to see
- Medical visits
- Medical records, including doctor’s notes and imaging results
Final Thoughts
Indeed, being injured in a workplace can be a nerve-wracking experience. With all the losses you may sustain depending on the extent and severity of your injury, it’s always in your best interest to enforce your right to recover compensation by hiring a good lawyer to help you with the legal processes. In order to do this, follow the things mentioned above in mind and you’ll be confident that you make the right decision for you and your workplace injury.
