Business owners small and large can run into real problems if an employee gets hurt in the workplace. Many businesses, after civil suits mounted by employees, have found themselves bankrupt and having to close. If you are a business owner, from any industry, and one of your employees has become injured in the workplace, look no further than this page. This guide covers what you must do if an employee is hurt at work. If an employee is injured, it will likely give way to much larger problems – even if it was not your fault or the fault of your company. Prevention, in many cases, is better than a cure. Rather than allowing an employee to claim they have been injured at work – put safeguarding measures in place and cameras around the workplace.
Here is what business owners should do if an employee gets hurt or injured at work.
First Aid
The first thing to do, regardless of whether or not the injury is severe, is to have the employee seen by your designated first aid responder. This will give you an opportunity to record the employee’s injuries so that they cannot exaggerate them later on. Additionally this gives you the opportunity to ensure that the employee is in good health and fit to return to work. In many cases, unfortunately, employees will exaggerate the extent of their injuries and request time off work to ‘recover’. Have your first aid responder see them and create a written record of their injuries and how they occurred. This then means you have the records should the employee decide to mount a wrongful injury lawsuit against you and your business.
Ambulance
If the employee’s injuries are severe, you may need to phone for an ambulance and have them seen by a medical professional. This should be judged on a case by case basis. There is no one injury that can be cited that would warrant an ambulance. You and the employee must make the decision together as to whether or not it is time to phone for an ambulance or whether you want to leave it. If the injury is severe, then phone for an ambulance immediately. The longer you wait, the more the employee can say against you in court.
Legal Aid
As soon as your employee has been hurt, you must contact an attorney to receive legal advice. The likely outcome is that your employee will contact a personal injury lawyer and attempt to take you to court and sue the company for personal injury. You must contact your attorney and begin mounting your own legal defence immediately. This is so you are properly equipped and able to deal with the situation. You do not want to be taken by surprise unexpectedly. Pursue legal aid from the beginning so that you can handle the situation with greater ease.
Investigate
Once you have hired an attorney, you should begin to investigate the accident. Accidents that have occurred and were entirely your fault should be admitted to. Additionally you should offer your employee a sum of money to compensate them for their injuries. This will save you going to court and is known as an out-of-court settlement. If, however, the accident is clearly not your fault and you have evidence to suggest it was negligence of your employee, take them to court. Fight it so that they do not get away with defrauding your company.
Repairs
If the accident was caused by the negligence of your own company failing to make repairs, or if the employee exploited damage to your building to cause their own injury, then make adequate repairs immediately. This ensures that nobody can do it again. Anytime you find a flaw in your building that could potentially cause personal injury, have them repaired or removed. This then ensures no further injury can be caused. Admittedly, repairs can cost a lot of money, but should always be made to ensure no further injury can occur. Your priority should be employee safety.
Sick Pay
It is best, if the injury was not their fault, to offer the employee sick pay. Many employers try to withhold sick pay and refuse to offer it. However, it is good practice, to be honest, and mature with your employees, especially if they are sick. Offer them sick pay – they may really need it.
With the help of this page, you know exactly what to do if one of your employees gets hurt at work. Follow this guide carefully, and all should go smoothly.
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