An unexpected work injury not only affects the individual but also the employer. According to the National Safety Council, every 7 seconds a worker is injured in a job. These numbers are staggering and the worst part is that each one is preventable. The majority of those random incidents can happen to anyone at any time and no one person is exempt from the risk associated with workplace injuries. Once an injury occurs it may take weeks or even months to get the situation resolved or for the full recovery of the employee. The first 24 hours of an injury are the most crucial and being prepared is critical.
The first step, however, is to go take the injured employee to occupational medicine facilities which are facilities built specifically to treat employees who have been injured on the job. There are plenty of benefits of occupational medicine facilities one being lower wait times than those at urgent care facilities where anyone is welcomed and the wait time times can skyrocket. At occupational medicine facilities, such as Nova Medical Centers, there are lower wait times, cater strictly to workplace injuries, and also provide courtesy injury transportation to and from the workplace to the facility.
The second step is to investigate the incident, and how and why the accident happened? To simply conclude that it was the irresponsibility of the employee or because of failure to follow procedure was the reason the incident happened would be a big mistake. In doing so the company fails to discover the root cause of the incident or any systematic changes that need to be made in order to prevent future incidents. Visit the scene, look for clues, take notes, and ask thorough questions to any witnesses about the incident.
The third step is reporting the injury. Every state has different workers’ compensation laws it is important to know what paperwork and reporting you’re required to do by law or if there are any relevant deadlines. Certain forms and insurance policy requirements may have deadlines. Read our blog for a general guideline on how to report a work-related injury. The insurance company will need to know about the injury as soon as possible to be able to make timely payments and also launch an investigation of their own.
The fourth step is communication with the employee making sure that they receive the proper care that they need and also the benefits that they are entitled to. Making sure the employee feels cared for and not abandoned but instead feels as a top priority may be the difference in a speedy recovery.
