Workplace injuries are commonplace, regardless of where you’re working. As an employer, you’re obligated to have a safety procedure in place to prevent these injuries from occurring. But, sometimes, accidents can still happen no matter how hard you try to prevent them. So, it’s important to have a clear plan in place in case one of your staff members becomes injured while at work.
Provide the Employee with Medical Attention
First things first, the staff member who is injured should immediately receive medical attention. In case of minor injuries, you can get them to the office nurse for some first aid. After this, they should still be taken to the hospital, just to be on the safer side. For more serious injuries, it’s crucial that you call 911 immediately and rush the injured employee to the nearest medical center for emergency treatment. Regardless of the severity of the injury, you should ensure that the employee receives medical attention from a licensed provider. Otherwise, you could get hit with a lawsuit.
Secure the Accident Scene
Once you’ve made sure the injured employee is receiving necessary medical care, you should take the essential steps to secure the scene of the accident. This will help with the investigation process and also help in preventing further accidents from occurring. Treat it as you would treat a crime scene, to ensure that every detail can be investigated without any trouble. In case of more severe accidents, you might need to use barriers such as tape or safety cones. You should also secure any equipment or materials that might have been involved in the accident, in case they’re needed for the investigation.
Compile the Facts for Your Report
In the case of workplace injuries, employers are obligated to properly record the details of the incident.
This will play to your advantage in case you get involved in a lawsuit. If the accident happened at an oil drilling venture, for instance, an oil field injury attorney will require you to put together all the reports you’ve made regarding the incident. Any inaccuracies could prove to be a disadvantage in front of a jury.
Your report should clearly contain details such as who was injured, which part of their body was injured, the area where the injury occurred, how the injury happened, etc. You should also record what kind of medical treatment the employee received. In case there were any witnesses, make sure you collect their contact information. It’s important that you finish your report as soon as possible while you can still clearly remember all the details. And make sure any claims are filed within 24 hours with the workers’ compensation insurance provider for your company.
These are some of the most crucial steps you need to take when one of your staff members suffers from an injury in the workplace. In addition to this, you could also develop a program to ensure that the injured employee can smoothly transition back to the workplace environment after their recovery. And don’t forget to continuously promote a safety culture within the organization to prevent further injuries.
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
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