No matter where you work, the chance of injury is often a very real possibility. This is especially true for those individuals that work in manual labour. While injury can be difficult to prevent at times, there are many instances where the company you work for may be at fault.
If you have been, or know someone that has been, involved in a workplace accident, here is an inside look at the process that you should go through.
Alert Your Superiors
Whenever you are involved in a workplace accident, no matter how small it may seem, your first step should be to alert your superiors of the incident. From there, they should have a process in place that requires them to document the incident for future records. This is important, as it will ensure that there is documentation in place for discussions about the incident in the future.
Without first reporting the incident and getting your superior to document what happened, it will be much more difficult to have further discussions about your options. This is one of the biggest mistakes that employees make when an accident occurs, and is something that you will undoubtedly want to avoid.
Contact an Injury Claims Lawyer
Once you are sure that the incident has been reported and that it has been documented by a superior, your next plan of action should generally be to contact an injury claims lawyer. Contacting a lawyer will allow you to discuss your options and find out whether your employer could be seen as the at-fault party in the matter.
It should be noted that your employer will almost always encourage you not to contact a lawyer. In most cases, however, you should avoid this advice as it is generally done as a way to save employers from the potential of being sued. No matter what happens or what you are told by your employer, you should always find out if you have a claim with workplace accident lawyers.
While it may seem that you are doing yourself a disservice and potentially putting yourself in an uncomfortable position with your employer by contacting a lawyer, it is important to realise that this is necessary to protect yourself. The unfortunate reality is that many employers are not as worried as they should be about the health and welfare of their employees, and protecting yourself and your co-workers should be a priority.
In most cases, the first step that a lawyer will take will involve discussing the incident with you to determine the action that can be taken to rectify the situation. Most lawyers are not looking to put you in an awkward and potentially damaging situation with your employer, but are instead simply trying to ensure you are protected and not put in a troubling financial situation from your current inability to work.