Despite having safety features and protocols set up in the workplace, accidents can still occur. Some of the most common mishaps that can happen include trips, slips, falls, and getting hit by moving objects. You must always be ready for eventualities, including how to handle injuries at the workplace.
Below are some tips on what to do if an injury-causing accident happen in your workplace:
1. Deal With The Injury First
When accidents happen, it’s crucial to provide attention and proper care to the person immediately. If you’re involved in a work-related incident, focus on the problem at hand first. Neither think about the repercussions nor the deadlines you need to beat at the moment.
The quick response should be to stay at your position, especially if it’s a head or neck injury, and have a first-aid. Every office or factory is required to have a first-aid kit, so you should find one in your workplace. Click to view your options if you think your employer has committed an oversight.
Even if the accident looks minor, it’s always prudent to have a qualified physician make an assessment and determine if you need further testing and treatment. Many head injury sufferers can stand up and function properly for several hours after an accident without knowing their concussion is already causing inflammation in the brain, leading to complications or even death.
2. Make A Report
Reporting about the injury is the second most crucial response to workplace accidents. If you’re alone when the accident happened, call a colleague or a manager and inform them about the happening. If you’re with your workmates, ask someone to report the incident if you’re incapable of doing so.
This step is critical for filing compensation claims, preventing other people from getting into the same situation, and helping management improve workplace safety. Your report should show the gaps in property management or protocols the company needs to address to avoid future injuries and accidents.
3. Record The Incident
In many cases, especially in the construction and manufacturing sectors, an accident file contains all incidents happening in the workplace. However, many employees decline to report what they perceive as minor to keep their performance targets and records from being tarnished. With this, your company must record every incident, even those seemingly insignificant. By doing so, workers won’t be too complacent.
As employees go on with their tasks, vigilance and adherence to safety protocols could decline. It can lead to fatal accidents down the road, so incident reports serve as a reminder for everyone to be more careful.
Also, don’t forget to take photos or videos of the incident, mainly if you think there’s an element needing to be addressed immediately. No employer wants further accidents to happen, so pieces of evidence you take to aid in the investigation will greatly help. Furthermore, you can also use them as proof if you want to file a compensation claim.
4. Take Note Of Your Symptoms
Take note of even the slightest symptoms or physical changes you experience and notice after the accident. For example, your neck injury may look minor initially, but it may escalate into something serious if you don’t take note of what you’re feeling. Don’t shrug off the small bump that seems to grow, the radiating pain that comes and goes, or the temporary headaches occurring post-incident.
You can easily forget these little things if you don’t write them down. But if you do, you may notice an alarming pattern that could compel you to visit a doctor and have things assessed again.
5. Attend All Required Consultations
Even if your condition is improving, you should continue to show up at your doctor’s appointment. The physician may have some tests or monitoring to do before giving you a clean bill of health. Trust their judgment before going back to work. Besides, if you don’t keep your appointments, compensation claims might also be affected.
6. Record All Expenses And Losses Related To The Injury
If you’ve been in a severe accident in your workplace, you need to be vigilant with your post-accident symptoms and all expenses incurred. Even after you’re released from the hospital or even months after the incident, there might still be long-standing consequences. Having all records and receipts of your expenses and losses will help you in case you want to file compensation claims.
Bottom Line
Accidents happen whether you like them or not. And the best way to protect yourself is through constant vigilance and through knowing how to handle things if an injury occurs while you’re at work.
