Five Things You Must Do if You're Injured at Work
What should you do if you’re injured at work?
You should be safe at work. But this isn’t the case for everyone all the time. Accidents do happen and people can get hurt.
After being injured at work, you might not know exactly what to do. It can be a highly confusing time, especially if you’re worried about how the injury will affect your employment.
We’ve put together this guide to help you work out what to do next. It will cover how you should:
- Get medical attention
- Report the accident to your employer
- Gather evidence
- Focus on your recovery
- Take legal action
To find out more, keep reading or get in touch with our friendly claims advisors. They’ll talk to you about your case as part of a free consultation and let you know if you have a strong case.
1. Get medical attention
Your health is the most important thing to focus on after suffering an accident at work. And where there is a first aid trained staff member present, they should assess your injury straight away. This will help in making the decision on whether you should go to the hospital immediately or be seen by a GP.
If you feel that your injury is still bothering you after a while, you should go back to see the doctor. Don’t assume that it will get better on it’s own. You may require ongoing treatment, such as physiotherapy, so it’s best to find out exactly what you need.
2. Report the accident to your employer
Legally, your employer must report certain serious injuries and illnesses to the Health and Safety Executive under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations (RIDDOR). So it is important that you let them know of your accident.
Your employer should have an accident book where your injuries can be recorded. Make sure that the details of your accident are clearly written out, and take a photo if you’re worried that your employer may later remove your entry.
Having your injuries written down could help later on if you decide to take legal action. This is because it will outline the time and place that the accident happened, as well as the events that led up to it.
3. Gather evidence
If you can, try to take photos or videos of your injury and where the accident took place. You should also make a note of who was there when you were hurt – your solicitor may contact these people later on for their accounts of what happened.
Your workplace may have CCTV, which could provide video evidence of the events leading up to your accident. This footage can be extremely useful in proving negligence, so you should try to request a copy of it if you can.
It’s also a good idea to write down your symptoms and how they’ve impacted on your daily life. For example, you may find it difficult to carry out household tasks as a result of your injuries. Making a record of this will help you to recall how you were affected later on.
4. Focus on your recovery
When you’ve had an injury at work, you might feel that you need to return as soon as you can to minimise any repercussions. But it’s important to assess your injury and carefully evaluate the best course of action to help with your recovery.
Speak to your doctors and agree on a recovery plan. This may require you to take some time off work, so try to keep your employer up to date with developments. We would also suggest checking your employment contract for more information on the terms surrounding your sick pay.
5. Take legal action
If your injury at work was your employer’s fault – through insufficient training, maintenance or other negligence – you could be able to make a claim for compensation.
We know you might feel anxious about taking legal action against your employer. And worrying about your relationship with them is understandable, but there are some things to take into consideration:
- You typically won’t claim directly against your employer
In most cases, you will claim against your employer’s insurer, which means you won’t directly be impacting on the company’s finances. - You can’t legally be sacked for making a claim
Employers are not allowed to dismiss employees for making an injury at work claim. If they do, they could open themselves up to unfair dismissal claims, which can lead to even more difficulties for them.
Taking legal action won’t reverse what happened. But it could help you to come to terms with it. For example, if you’ve had to take time off work to recover, making a claim for compensation could help you to deal with the financial implications of your injuries.
It may also help to highlight the negligence that led to your accident – which could prompt your employer to make changes that will prevent any of your colleagues suffering similar accidents in the future.
If you think you could have a claim and would like some advice on what to do, get in touch with our knowledgeable claims advisors. Give us a call, request a callback or start your claim online. We’ll discuss your situation and talk you through your options.
We’re here to help you through this stressful time.
Note: First4Lawyers offers this information as guidance, not advice. Before taking any action, you should seek professional assistance tailored to your personal circumstances.
