What to Do if You Get Injured at Work
It’s no secret that getting injured at work can be a considerable inconvenience. You have to take time off, you may have to use up holiday days, or worse yet – you might not have any paid time off available.
It’s hard enough getting injured in the first place without having to worry about how it will affect your finances when you get back on your feet. If this is something you’ve been dealing with, there are some steps you can take to try and make things easier for yourself.
What should you do if you got injured at work? You may not even know that there is a law protecting employees who get hurt on the job! This blog post will walk you through what options are available and what to do after a debilitating injury.
Record All the Details
Make a note of your accident’s details will be helpful if you want to claim compensation or benefits like Statutory Sick Pay. You can record an accident by reporting it at work and seeing a doctor.
Make sure to take photographs of your injuries and the cause. Be sure to collect contact details for witnesses; they might not remember exactly what happened later on. Plus, you should make notes about it as soon after the event as possible – drawings can be helpful.
Also, if anyone else was involved, ask them for their notes. That way, everyone will be clear on how events unfolded.
Report Your Accident to Your Employer
It’s crucial to report details of your accident to your employer. However, who you report the details to will depend on a couple of things:
- Where you were working at the time;
- Your employment status.
If you got injured at your usual workplace, your employer needs to know as soon as possible. The best person to inform is usually your manager; check with your HR department if you’re unsure how or when this should get done.
Were you working elsewhere from your usual work location, such as at a customer’s premises? If so, tell the person you usually report to when you’re there and also inform your manager.
However, if you’re self-employed, you have to report an accident that happened on your premises or at a customer’s premises to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive). You should also inform the person at the site you usually deal with when you’re there.
If your employer has more than ten employees, they must document the accident in an accident book. Should your employer not have one, write down details of the accident and send them to your manager. Make sure you keep a copy for yourself as well.
See Your GP
It doesn’t matter if you’ve had to take a trip to the hospital or not after your accident. It always makes sense to book an appointment with your GP as soon as possible. Doing so will ensure they can help you treat your injuries.
Plus, they will document the details in your medical records, and you can obtain a copy of them if they get requested as evidence by your employer or your injury lawyer.
Getting Paid if You Can’t Work
Your injuries might be so severe that you aren’t able to work, either temporarily or permanently. With that in mind, you need to determine what pay you’re entitled to get, along with any benefits.
For example, if you’ve got a contract with your employer, you should be entitled to contractual sick pay. Check with your manager, staff handbook, or on your staff intranet for further details.
You may also be entitled to benefits such as Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for up to 28 weeks or Universal Credit if you’re an employee or agency worker. However, if you’re self-employed, you may still have benefits entitlement if you don’t have income protection insurance.
Consider Making a Personal Injury Claim
Lastly, if you believe your accidents and the injuries you’ve sustained are the fault of your employer or client, you’ll likely want to consider making a personal injury claim. Some reasons why it would make sense to pursue a personal injury claim include:
- There are little to no health and safety standards getting met at your workplace;
- The actions of untrained colleagues resulted in your accident;
- Your employer or client is using unsafe machinery, tools, or equipment.
The best way to pursue a personal injury claim is by talking to talking to a specialist solicitor. They can review the details of your accident and give you their opinion of whether pursuing a claim is justified and likely to end in a successful outcome of compensation for you.
*This is a collaborative post.
