An employee inquiry isn’t the be-all and end-all. They might ask you if they can have next Monday morning off to go to the doctor. They might request holiday days.
In this article, we’ll opt for the end-all scenario. No one wants it to happen. Not the manager. Not the employee. Not the poor soul who has to fill in the incident report while the coffee gets cold on their desk. But it does happen. Someone lifts wrong. Someone trips over a cable. Someone gets hurt. Or you’ve gone against what’s in their contract.
And when they do come to ’inquire,’ you can’t freeze or panic or pretend it didn’t happen. You need to act.
Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to handle a negative employee injury.
Step One: Get Help First, Ask Questions Later
If someone’s injured, you stop what you’re doing and assess the scene. No spreadsheet matters more than a bleeding forehead or a twisted ankle. You need to check if emergency services are required. You need to make sure the scene is safe. And you need to avoid turning one injury into two by charging in without thinking.
You don’t start blaming or speculating. You help.
If the injury is severe, you call emergency services immediately. If it’s minor, you still make sure the employee sees a medical professional. “I think I’ll walk it off” should never be the final word. You never know if they’ll get some outsider influence and get legal services involved because you ’did nothing about the issue.’
Hopefully, depending on the size of your business, you have someone who knows this process and does it all for you.
Step Two: Document the Incident Without Delay
Time matters here. The longer you wait, the fuzzier the facts get. You should collect the details as soon as possible. That means logging where it happened, what caused it, and who was present. Well, and everything else in between.
You might feel tempted to smooth things over or use vague language. Don’t. Be precise and be honest. It isn’t about protecting your image. It’s about recording reality. Because if a claim follows, and it often does, your future self will thank you for the paper trail.
And if there’s video footage, you back it up. If there are witnesses, you get statements. Don’t assume memory will help you next week.
Step Three: Check Your Insurance Facts Before the Bills Arrive
This is where general liability insurance for small business and workers’ compensation insurance might pay off. Most companies don’t think about them until it’s too late. General liability covers certain injury claims, though it doesn’t usually help with employee injuries. That’s why workers’ compensation exists.
Workers comp can cover the employee’s medical bills and wage replacement, which prevents the business from footing the bill directly. It also protects you from lawsuits, which can become expensive fast when medical records get involved.
If you don’t have the right coverage, you’re playing a very risky game.
Step Four: Show Up for the Employee, Not Just the Paperwork
This is the part where too many managers fumble. They forget the person in pain and focus on the policy. Don’t be that person.
You check in. You ask how they’re doing. You see if they need help filling out claim forms or booking appointments. You don’t ghost them after the incident report lands in HR’s inbox.
If you create a supportive environment, your employees will be more likely to communicate openly and return to work smoothly. And that matters more than clocking off right at five (or a few hours before if you’re the lucky boss).
Step Five: Review What Went Wrong and Fix It
Once the dust settles, you don’t go back to business as usual. You investigate, learn, and act. Some companies call it an incident management meeting. Was it a loose handrail? Was it poor training? Was it a machine without proper safeguards?
If you don’t fix the issue, it will happen again. And the next time, it might be worse. You should talk to your team, ask for feedback, and look at whether better signage, better gear, or better habits could prevent another injury.
You turn one bad moment into a better future.
That was, as you can see, the be-all and end-all scenario. Sometimes, it isn’t that deep, but you should always be prepared. You can’t bubble-wrap the workplace (sadly) and accidents will happen. But how you respond will shape your culture, your reputation, and your bottom line.
