By | Maggie Bloom
Running a business comes with a plethora of responsibilities. When a conflict happens, it isn’t easy to prioritize your duties. However, there is one non-negotiable responsibility every business owner has: employee health and safety. Therefore, you should ensure that your employees get cover in case of an accident.
Examples of workplace injuries
Workplace injuries differ from one place of work to another. For instance, the injury risks employees at an accounting firm face differ from risks at a manufacturing firm.
Here are examples of injuries that your employees may face:
- Overexertion injuries
These are the most common injuries at workplaces. According to one study, American companies spend over $15.1 billion in direct costs involving these kinds of injuries.
- Machine entanglement
They are rare injuries but potentially fatal when they occur. Also, they can be quite expensive to treat or may sometimes result in loss of life.
- Vehicle accidents
You are most likely to encounter this type of injury in the manufacturing sector. Also, this injury can be fatal or minor, depending on the specific accident.
- Repetitive motion injuries
These kinds of injuries result from repetitive activities. If one body part gets involved in the same task daily, then repetitive motion injuries become imminent.
- Slip, fall and trip injuries
Employees are likely to encounter these injuries almost in any industry. Mostly, they are minor but can also prevent someone from being productive.
5 Steps to Take When an Employee gets Injured on the Job
After looking at the most common types of injuries in the modern workplace, it is essential to take tangible steps to take when they occur. Here is what you can do when your employee gets injured:
- Seek medical attention
The first step to take is seeking medical attention. Although your mind may start thinking about things like financial repercussions, those are not worth thinking about now. It would help if you encouraged your employee to seek immediate medical attention.
- File a report
Another thing you have to consider is having a report on the accident. Even though the employee will have an account of what happens for filing a lawsuit, you also need your statement. Ask for details from other employees at the scene and record your observations too.
- Cooperate with workers compensation
It would be best if you kept in touch with your workers’ compensation carrier. Please provide them with all the details they require about the employee. Also, it would help if you cooperated with their attorney should there be a lawsuit against you. San Bernardino attorneys say that “Accidents happen when we least expect them and in ways that we can never anticipate,” so you need to ensure that you are cooperative.
- Welcome the employee back
Whether the accident leads to a lawsuit or not, it is your job to welcome the employee back as soon as possible. It is a crime to terminate an employee’s employment because they filled a lawsuit against you. Therefore, welcome them back as soon as they are physically able to work. It helps to avoid further legal repercussions.
- Prevent future issues
The best way to protect your business and employees in the future is to develop better policies. You should learn from the incident and ensure it does not occur again. Remember, it is your job to protect employees from future shortcomings.
How to Prevent Future Workplace Injuries
As mentioned earlier, on-the-job injuries are so common. However, there are several ways you can mitigate them. Here are some steps you may consider to reduce future accidents:
- Screening of new employees – You should screen every new hire to find out whether they are of sound mind and can make the right judgments even under pressure.
- Investing in employee education – Educating employees on their safety is an employer’s responsibility.
- Providing all the required resources – Ensure you have all safety equipment, including first aid equipment that can help treat minor injuries.
- Conducting regular inspection and monitoring – You should regularly check on employee welfare and the working environment.
- You can become a more responsible employer – Becoming more concerned about your employees is the best way to prevent fatal injuries.
Final thoughts
No one expects you to create a utopian environment for your employees. However, you have to ensure that your employees are safe. Also, you are responsible for making sure that they follow the right steps to recovery in case of an accident. It should be your primary aim.
