Accidents at work? Everything you need to know

Falling victim to an accident at work is a distressing and confusing time. You will likely be worried about your injuries and have the added stress of your accident and trying to find reliable information can be difficult and frustrating. It can often be an emotionally stressful time as well. Having a good lawyer or team behind you, like Lamber Goodnow injury lawyers, will make the process so much easier for you. 

Most people feel a sense of loyalty to the company they work for. Therefore, filing a claim against them can feel difficult. However, you should not suffer, if you have experienced an accident at work that was not your fault then you should definitely seek compensation. This article will help you navigate this tricky process. 

Focus on your injury

This is the most important thing that you need to do. In the aftermath of your accident, you should immediately seek treatment by your workplace’s first aider. Every workplace has one as they are legally obliged to have one on-site. After the accident has taken place, you should not move until you have been examined by and evaluated by a trained first aider and medical professional.

Whilst your injury may appear minor at first, in the worst case, it can be a lifelong condition without proper treatment. As such you should get a full assessment of your injury after the workplace first aider has evaluated you. You can go straight to accident and emergency. If you do that then you should make sure a work colleague goes with you. They can back up your claim and act as a witness. You should still not be chasing personal injury claims at this point, just make sure to concentrate on yourself.

Report the accident to your work

If you were working alone at the time of the accident, then you should make sure that your colleagues are made aware of the accident. This is incredibly important if you want to make a claim for compensation and for any investigation that takes place. Your employers will not be able to dispute the occurrence of the accident. This does not happen often but can still happen.

An employer can quite easily put a lot of pressure on their employees to make an accident claim go away. They can persuade more suggestible workers to deny that the accident happened or that it was the company’s fault. It sounds horrific but this can happen. It is always safer to have lots of evidence and backup when it comes to these things.

On a completely different note, you should always inform your colleagues about your accident because it may stop them from being hurt by the same thing that has hurt you. You should make sure that your co-workers don’t fall victim to the same problem.

Speaking to your manager

You must tell your manager about the accident and that you follow the organization’s accident reporting protocols. If you have suffered a serious accident, then your employer is legally obliged to report the accident to the health and safety executive. In many organizations, you could be in breach of the staff procedures if you do not report the accident appropriately.

The question of who is to blame for the accident is best to be avoided at the time. Even if you think you are to blame, or if your manager blames you, this does not mean your employer is not legally at fault for the accident happening. The question of fault is best assessed by lawyers and qualified solicitors with legal expertise in apportioning responsibility and negligence in the workplace.

Recording it in the accident book

This is an important step as it will be one of the first ports of call for any investigation. Every organization will have an accident book. Some employers may be reluctant to record a workplace accident in the accident book usually because there is a target to reduce accidents at work.

You mustn’t allow your accident to go unrecorded. Many workplaces will have a target, or a bonus attached to the number of days without a workplace accident, you shouldn’t feel pressured to not record it. Reporting an accident is an important task to do especially if you plan on making a claim.

Taking photos and evidence

These can be a real bonus if you are planning on claiming compensation. This can be really important for your claim. You should take photos of any injuries that you have sustained as well as take any video evidence of the accident that will evidence the claim for you.

After an accident a work you should act like an investigator. As long as your employer will not penalize you for using your phone, you can take videos and photos of the area and anything you think may have contributed to the accident. This will ensure that your employer will not try and fix the accident location before you have had a chance to make your claim.

There is no such thing as too much evidence. Work on the basis that if you are in doubt, you should record it. No accident at work solicitor will criticize you for taking too many photos or videos. It will not harm your case to have lots of evidence.

Workplace accidents and what to do

You must realize when you are injured at work, you need to follow the correct procedures to ensure not only that you are listened to at work, but you are also compensated correctly. You do not want to annoy your workplace by pursuing a claim unnecessarily, but they have a duty of care towards you.

If you are going to pursue a claim, then you should make sure that you consult a legal professional so that you know what you are doing and what you need to ensure that a claim goes through. They will also allow you to know what you can claim for. This will help you decide whether you want to go ahead with a claim. Remember that you are a valued member of society and that you should not be pushed aside because of something that is not your fault.