From employees to managers, productivity is essential in the workplace. If everyone is working to their best ability, you can expect consistent performance and ensure you meet deadlines and keep clients and customers happy.
Many things can disrupt this productivity, including low motivation and malfunctioning systems. Another common cause of productivity loss is workplace injury. Whether you run the company or work there, you must make sure you know what to do after an accident occurs to ensure you deal with it correctly and maintain a steady flow of efficiency within the workplace.
Know The Extent of Your Injury
You should not do anything until you realize the extent of your injury. In some cases, this is easy to do, as there will be clear signs of the injury, whether pain or a wound or even both.
Yet even this is often not enough. Some injuries are internal, and may not be evident immediately. If you are involved in an accident, remove yourself from the area if possible but do not do too much movement at first. You may find that the injury is a small cut or a sprain, although it could be more severe depending on what happened.
Inform the Relevant Persons
Once you understand the extent of the injury, you must inform the relevant person or persons. This can include the First Aid leader at the office, who is typically designated daily or weekly depending on who has the training.
Informing this person first will allow you to get the treatment you need. They can also pass on the message and contact the manager, as they also need to be aware of what has occurred and can decide the next steps. They may choose to lock down the area or get you to a safer place while also informing everyone to avoid the place where you suffered an injury.
Write Up an Incident Report
Writing up an incident report is one of the main OSHA requirements regarding workplace injuries. Although you may currently be in a lot of pain and maybe even confused, you should try to get this report written as soon as possible after the accident. Otherwise, you risk forgetting details, especially as there may be numerous other things you need to do.
The incident report should highlight everything that occurred in the lead-up, during, and after the accident for a thorough record. This will also benefit any insurance claims you need to make if the accident was not your fault.
Take Photos for Evidence
With how prominent smartphones are in the workplace, you can take advantage of this by taking photos of the injury and the scene to collect evidence. Again, this can be compiled with your incident report to back up your claims. It can also be sent to other people such as if the manager is not at the office or workplace at the time.
Even if you don’t have an obvious injury, it’s still worth getting evidence on the part of your body that was injured as bruising could occur later, giving you a chance to compare.
Get Treatment
The treatment you get will depend on the severity of the injury you experience. Minor cuts or grazes can be dealt with at the office by the First Aid leader as they clean you up and decide whether to send you home or allow you to continue working.
But, more serious injuries will require professional medical attention. If you are uncertain, it’s always best to get a professional opinion, especially if you suffered a head injury, as there is no certainty that you did not suffer a concussion.
Find Out Your Rights
If you believe the accident was not your fault, you can contact a personal injury attorney to find out your rights and get an idea about any possible compensation. However, many employees can feel uncomfortable making claims against their employer, meaning they may ignore this procedure. You must think about what happened and whether it could have been avoided, because if so, you should be entitled to compensation, and it will ensure the same does not happen to anyone else.
Safety First
If you are a manager, employee safety is a primary responsibility. If you are an employee, you are still responsible for your safety and the safety of those around you. Still, accidents can happen, even if you take steps to prevent them at all costs. By ensuring you know what to do following a workplace injury, you can find out how to avoid these issues in the future and maintain your productivity.
Contributed Content
