What Happens After an Injury at Work? A Quick Guide
Workplace injuries can be damaging to team morale and to your own feeling of comfort and safety on the job. They can also be awkward, given that it’s likely that your workplace failed you in some way in order for your injury to have taken place at all. Whether you were injured through negligence or a lack of risk assessments and other hazard planning, your workplace will know that they should have done more to keep you safe on the job. So they’ll be worried about a lawsuit – but here’s what you’ll do after your injury at work.
Keep Things Civil
You might be furious that you’ve been forced into hospital or to take time off work because of a mistake someone else made in your company, but it’s important to remain civil after you’ve been injured at work. There’s little use in pointing the finger right away; rather, this is something you can reflect on with the help of lawyers down the line. For now, get your doctor to let you know if and when you’re safe to return to work, and pass that on to your managers. That’s all you need to do with regards to contacting your workplace.
Gather Evidence
Different workplaces have different risks that lead to different injuries. In some, it’ll be obvious that there was an error in your working facility that led to your injury. In others, it’ll be less obvious. It’s also the case that some injuries will take place before witnesses, while others will take place while you’re alone and potentially out of sight of CCTV cameras. All this is to say that there’s not one hard and fast rule for gathering evidence of how you got injured – but the testimony of others, and photographs from the scene, can certainly help you make your case.
Request Compensation
In the event that you’re injured at work, it’s likely that your workplace will try to contact you about whether you’re going to launch a lawsuit against them. Some employers may even attempt to head off any attempt on your part to talk to lawyers, and will offer you a lump sum as a settlement so that they avoid a case altogether. You’ll need to decide if that settlement is proportionate, and you should do that with the help of professionals at therawlinsfirm.com, who are experts in personal injury law and know just how much you’ll be due in compensation.
Back to Work
Even during the legal proceedings that your lawyers are filing against your company, you may still go back to work. There are employment laws that protect you from discrimination or harassment if you return to your workplace after suing them for the injury you sustained. So you should be treated with respect despite the legal proceedings in the background. If you feel safe and happy in the job, you’ll be able to stay indefinitely in your post. But some people who are injured at work would like to move on – and do so shortly after they receive their compensation package.
There you have it: a guide to the aftermath of a personal injury while you’re at work.
