There is no good time to be involved in an accident. However, one place you certainly don’t want to be hurt is at work. You should not have to fear every time that you enter the workplace that you may get injured. When you do get involved in an accident it can be a distressing and confusing time of your life. There are pains to do with your injuries but also the extra strains that you may face if you cannot go to work or look after your family as you are used to. If you need advice on what to do after you have been involved in an accident, then here are a few tips.
Focus on your health
Before you contact any legal services, such as Lamber Goodnow Injury Lawyers Denver, you need to make sure that you are okay. After an accident, no matter how big or small, you should be treated by the first aider within your workplace. If this did not happen, then this may be a sign that you do indeed have a case as every employer is legally obliged to have a first aid kit and nominated first-aider in the workplace at all times. A qualified first aider will be able to give you an assessment of your injuries and give you recommendations on what to do next.
Reporting the accident to your manager
This is something that you must do following an accident. Your company, regardless of the industry, will have an accident reporting procedure in place that you must follow. If your accident was major, then your employer is legally obliged to tell the Health and Safety Executive. As well as this, in many places of work, you may be in breach of their policies if you do not report your accident property. At this stage, it is safer to not start assigning blame. This can be true even if you blame yourself or if someone else blames you. It does not mean that your employer is also not legally responsible for the accident happening. You should leave the blame to be worked out by your solicitor.
Recording your accident in the book
In every organization, there will be an accident logbook. You need to make sure that your accident is recorded in this, even if your employer is reluctant to. There are often performance targets to reduce workplace accidents and injuries as well as counts about how long a place of work has gone without incident. You need to make sure that your accident is recorded. This is not only because it will help with any claim that you need to put in, but it may help the accident from recurring. Practices may be changed, and injuries may be avoided.
Seek help from your colleagues
If you were working alone or away from the rest of your team, then it is important that you let them know about the incident. You should also tell those that you are closest to at work about the accident. This is important because it can help you avoid similar workplace injuries, and it can help you if there are to be any investigations or claims to be placed. The last thing that you want to hear about is one of your colleagues going through the same accident as you because they were unaware of what had happened to you.
Take photos and videos
When you are looking towards making a claim then you will be asked to provide concrete evidence about both the accident and your injuries. Make sure to grab photos and videos of the accident location as soon as you can. You may need to wait for the area to be made safe before you can do this, but it will act as compelling evidence for any claim you may make. It can also help to defend against a dishonest employer if they begin to deny what happened. You can never have too much evidence.
Having an injury at work
There is nothing worse than being injured at work. It may mean that you cannot go to work for a while which will not only affect your daily life but also your income and long-term future. If you have had a serious injury, then it may affect the rest of your life. It is important that if this has happened to you you are justly compensated and that you are not left in a tough spot both in your career and your financial situation.
