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Injured at Work? Here’s What You Can Do

Workplace injuries can happen at any time, regardless of the nature of your job. Workplace injuries cover everything from a police officer getting shot on the job to slipping and falling on the lobby of your office.

Millions of workers all over the world sustain mild to severe injuries while on the job. Some of these injuries will threaten your life and your capacity to work.

Therefore, it is tremendously helpful to know what you can do if you get an injury at work. The best thing you can do is to plan.

The following are some steps you can take if you are injured at work:

Report the Injury

The first thing you should do after experiencing a workplace injury is to report the injury as soon as possible. The person to whom you should report the injury is your supervisor or your HR manager.

It is essential to report your injury because you could lose your ability to receive compensation for your damage if you delay it. Unless you lose consciousness or sustain an injury that impedes you from contacting your superior, report the injury immediately.

Get Medical Assistance

Once you report the injury, you can figure out how you can receive first aid or medical care for your injury. You can hence begin the evaluation and treatment process to help alleviate your distress.

You should do this second because companies have various policies about receiving medical care if you are injured at work. Failure to comply with the policies could land you in serious trouble.  

Understand Workers Compensation

You need to learn and understand workers compensation before you ever get into a workplace accident. However, you have no choice but to learn it if you get injured at work.

You need to read about and comprehend the worker’s compensation process from start to finish. You should understand it from the workers’ perspective and also from the company’s perspective.

What is covered by a workers’ compensation insurance policy will depend on the policy and the insurance company providing it. There are many issues they cover and many others the insurance policy will not cover.

Understanding the workers’ compensation policy your company has will help you know what options you have. In some cases, your medical bills will have to be paid for by your health insurance plan.

If you want to receive due compensation for your injuries from your employer, understanding workers’ compensation is mandatory.

Consult an Attorney

If you sustain an injury at work, you should consult a personal injury attorney. It would be best if you did so after filing a workers compensation claim with your employer for them to forward to their insurance provider.

Working in the so-called GIG economy?

That creates a whole new set of challenges for workers who can easily be injured but aren’t considered employees. In that case, you may want to contact an Uber Lawyer to find out your rights.

There are legal ramifications to a workplace injury, especially if your employer’s insurance provider deems that the injury was your fault. In such a case, you may have to take your employer to court for them to pay for the damages you incur. However, that should be an option of last resort.

You should exhaust all options for getting compensation from your employer before filing a lawsuit against them. A lawyer will be best placed to help you understand the legal options at your disposal after a workplace injury.

Most first-time consultations with a personal injury attorney will be free, so it costs nothing to know your options. You will know what benefits you are liable to receive in compensation and the actions to take if you don’t receive the benefits.

It is best to get an experienced attorney who knows how to navigate workers compensation and personal injury cases for a higher chance of getting compensation.

Getting injured at work is no fun, and it can lead to severe injuries, plus the inability to earn an income. The most important thing is to understand workers’ compensation and how it applies to your case. Only then can you take appropriate actions after a workplace injury. 

 

Jeff Campbell