What You Should Do After An Accident At Work
Many people suffer from serious injuries due to accidents at work. Unfortunately, some of them don’t get to receive fair compensation because they fail to protect their rights.
If you’re hurt from an accident at work and it’s because of someone’s negligence, don’t hesitate to take action and get the justice you deserve by doing the following:
1. Evaluate Your Injury
Before you call a slip and fall lawyer, one of the things you should do after an accident at work is to assess your injury. An efficient and quick medical response can mean the difference between life and death
If your company has a medical response team or a safety site supervisor, alert them immediately to evaluate your injuries and give you first aid. If your company doesn’t have one, call 911 quickly.
2. Get Medical Attention
After an accident at work, make sure to see a doctor immediately. If your injuries warrant it, go to the ER. But, if you’re not seriously injured, you must ask your employers if they need you to see a doctor or if you could choose which doctor to consider.
If it was your employer who chose the doctor and you’re not satisfied with how things did go, you might want to find a better doctor. Under the law of workers’ compensation, you can be entitled to a second opinion.
Although workers’ compensation won’t pay you to see another doctor, it’ll be all worth it for your sake. Depending on your injuries, you might lose more when it comes to your benefits than it would cost you to get an assessment by another doctor.
3. Secure The Accident Scene
Another thing you should do immediately is to secure the site of a workplace accident. Your employer must limit access to the scene to preserve evidence and avoid accidents in the future. The scene should be secured and the materials or equipment involved must be saved so you can use them as your evidence if you file a claim.
4. Take Note Of Everything That Happens
Use your smartphone’s camera to take photos of the job accident scene or the injuries you’ve incurred. You must also take note of everything you say once you report your work injury and everything your employers do in response to your report. If there are witnesses, you can ask them about what happened and record their statements, if necessary, to support the evidence you got.
5. Report Your Work Injury Immediately
Many workers who suffer from job-related injuries, like a back injury, are hesitant to report the work injury. People feel like they’ll be perceived as whiners or complainers if they report work injuries before they know how serious their injuries are. However, you shouldn’t delay reporting your work injury. Failure to report it may lead to workers’ compensation benefits being denied.
6. Keep A Record Of Your Losses And Expenses
Since every case is different, another thing you should do is to keep a record of your losses and expenses. If you lose pay because of the accident or lose the chance to earn a promotion or a bonus, make sure to take note of them for you to get fair and more accurate compensation.
7. Call A Reliable Work Injury Lawyer
If your employer doesn’t help you file a job injury claim or won’t let you see a doctor, you must call a lawyer immediately. Although workers’ compensation is great to have, if your injury was due to someone’s negligence, you’re entitled to get much more than you deserve.
Conclusion
If you’ve been hurt at work or you believe that you got injured because of someone else’s negligence, keep those abovementioned things in mind and never hesitate to contact the best lawyer for a proper case evaluation. Just make sure to hire a lawyer who has expertise and years of experience in work injury law.
