When you are at work, you have certain rights. You have the right to a fair wage, regular breaks, and a safe working environment. It’s up to your boss to make sure that these requirements are being met, especially when it comes to a safe working environment. There are health and safety laws for a reason, and if your employer doesn’t follow them, the workplace may not be safe and people will be at risk. If you find yourself in that situation, you should know that it’s within your rights to refuse to work until your workplace is made safe again. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t realize until it’s too late and they end up with a serious injury. Dealing with a work injury can be incredibly difficult, both financially and emotionally, and it’s important that you follow the right procedures to make sure that your employer is held accountable and you are looked after until you can get back into work. These are the steps that you need to take if you are injured at work.
Focus On Your Safety
The only thing that you should be focused on in the immediate aftermath of an injury is your own safety. If the injury is not that serious, you need to find a first aid trained member of staff and have them see to it for you. But if the injury is particularly bad, you need to call an ambulance right away. If possible, you should try to remove yourself from the area as well because it may still be unsafe. Make sure that your coworkers know that there is a safety issue as well so you can avoid any more injuries. Even if you don’t need immediate medical attention, it’s always a good idea to see a doctor when you can, just to make sure that your injuries are not too serious.
Gather Evidence
Most people assume that you should report the incident right away, but there is a step that you should take before that if possible. You will need to report it, but as soon as you do that, your employer can start making changes to cover their own back. If they fix the health and safety issues that caused your injury and there is no evidence of it, it’s your word against theirs and you may have problems when it comes to claiming compensation. That’s why you should gather evidence if possible. If there were other coworkers nearby that can back you up, that’s always a bonus. You should also try to photograph health and safety violations if you can because this will be a huge help later on.
Report The Incident
The next step is to report the incident to your superiors. You might not know how to handle an accident, but the best lawyer out there will know how to manage it for you. Getting legal advice is the smartest thing that you can do to ensure that you get the outcome you need. Whether your accident happens in the kitchen off duty or in the warehouse, if you are on the premises of your workplace when it occurs, you are going to need help. Most workplaces have guidelines about accident reporting, so find out what the procedure is and follow it properly. Your employer has a legal responsibility to report the injury to a health and safety executive, so it’s important that you tell them. They also need to be made aware of health and safety issues so they can take steps to protect the rest of your coworkers and avoid any further injuries. If you don’t go through the proper procedure, it could be used against you in the future, so make sure that you do everything by the book.
Seek Legal Advice
If you feel that the injury only happened because your employer did not follow health and safety procedures properly, it’s likely that you have a good compensation claim. If you are out of work due to the injury, that money could be a real lifeline and it will give you some breathing room so you can focus on recovery. It’s important that you seek professional advice from somebody like Turley Law Firm and they will advise you on how to move forward. It’s best to get proceedings underway as soon as possible, so make sure to contact somebody right away. There are certain pieces of evidence that you will need to collect like doctor’s reports etc. and your lawyer will take you through all of this.
Focus On Recovery
Once you have dealt with the legal aspects, you need to start thinking about your recovery so you can get back to work as soon as possible. Make sure that you always take the advice of your doctor and don’t try to overstretch yourself because you could make your injuries worse. You should also think carefully about what you eat and drink because that can help with recovery as well. Check out these great dishes that help to speed up injury recovery by providing your body with all of the nutrients that you need. The most important thing is to take it easy and don’t try to get back into work before you’re ready.
An injury at work is always a tough situation to deal with, but if you follow these steps, you can get back on your feet soon enough.
Leave a Reply