If you’ve suffered an injury during an incident at work, it may be a stressful and confusing. There’s no doubt that there’s discomfort and the difficulties that result from the injuries you sustained, but these may also bring more worries, like how will my lifestyle and earning capacity be affected? What can I do?
In the following 12 points I’ve laid out the clear, beneficial actions you can take following your workplace accident. They are designed to aid your recovery and place you in the most favorable position should you choose to seek damages for the injury you sustained at work.
1. Concentrate on your overall health
This is one of the top things you must do.
Following the accident, you must be treated by the first aid officer at work. If not, it could be a sign of a lack of care from your employer’s side since each workplace is legally required to provide a first aid kit and a designated initial aid person.
It is recommended that you seek an exhaustive evaluation of your workplace injuries from a competent medical professional as quickly as possible following the incident.
A few types of injuries might appear to be minor at first but they can develop into something much more severe. For instance, head injuries may take hours and sometimes weeks to manifest. In the most severe cases, even minor injuries can turn into a chronic condition if not appropriate treatment.
The golden rule: following an accident, do not place your job or any other aspect of a potential claim over your own well-being and health.
2. Inform your manager
Your manager must be informed about the incident, in line with the procedures for reporting accidents in your company.
If you’ve been involved in an accident that was serious at work, the employer legally obligated to report the incident and the Health and Safety Executive (depending on the specific circumstances and time you are off from work).
Furthermore, in some organizations there is a chance that you may be violating the employee manual/procedures if don’t report an accident at work in a timely manner.
The question of who’s at fault for the incident is best avoided at this point. If you’re blaming yourself, or your boss blames you for the incident however, it doesn’t mean your employer isn’t legally responsible for the incident taking place. The question of who is at fault is best evaluated by experienced lawyers who are experts in assessing the liability of accidents that occur at work.
3. Make sure your accident is written in the accident log
Every company should have an accident log. Some employers might not be able to keep track of accidents in their accident log typically due to goals to reduce workplace injuries and accidents.
It is essential to not let accidents to remain unreported in this manner. Although some workplaces boast about the amount of days when there hasn’t been any injuries but you shouldn’t allow this to pressure you to allow your accident go unreported.
Notifying an accident is a crucial responsibility, and could aid in preventing similar injuries from occurring.
If your employer does not want to report the incident in the accident record book Then you must send an email or letter to your employer to ensure you have written evidence of your attempt to file a claim for the accident. Employers cannot erase one of your messages especially if it’s directly from your personal email account.
If your employer continues to refuse to include the incident in the accident log This could be enough to cause you to resign or claim constructive dismissal. Before resigning, or taking any other move, you must consult an employment law specialist. Resigning is an important move.
4. Inform your colleagues of the accident and request their assistance.
If you were on your own when you had the accident Make sure that your coworkers are informed that the event occurred. Particularly, inform the colleagues you trust most about the accident.
Notifying your colleagues of the situation is a wise action for two main reasons:
It is a way to prevent similar workplace injuries occurring to everyone else.
It may aid in any investigations , or in the event that you decide to seek compensation.
The first is self-explanatory . It is morally appropriate to warn other workers about the dangers that resulted in your workplace accident.
The second makes it much harder for your employer or insurance company to prove that an accident took place as it is something that unfortunately can occur.
Additionally, depending on the severity of the extent of your injuries, you could be out of work for a period of duration following the accident. In the moment following an accident that employers may decide to modify equipment or working systems due to the workplace accident you sustained. Although this is usually done to enhance safety, at times it can be carried out to “cover” what occurred.
If your employer decides this time to conduct investigations into the incident and your connection to the facts could be overlooked while you’re away.
It is essential to keep at heart that bosses could exert lots in the way of stress on employees. They might be able convince more likable employees to deny that the incident occurred. It sounds like a nightmare however the reality is that ensuring that you have ‘bulletproof proof’ that the workplace accident happened is the most effective way to keep your employer, or their insurance company from denial that the incident occurred.
This is the reason having trusted colleagues with you can be very beneficial. They can make sure that the truth regarding the situation are documented and keep you informed regarding any changes your employer might make in the event of your absence.
5. Photograph and record video evidence
This is a follow-up to the previous point about “bulletproof evidence”.
Videos and photos of the scene of the accident, immediately after the incident as (safely) feasible, could be a convincing proof. This can help with a work injury claim in the event that you decide later to file one, or may assist you in defending yourself from false allegations that a dishonourable employer might be able to make.
Following an accident at work, you need to behave as you are a Crime Scene Investigator!
Keep in mind that you cannot have enough evidence. Be sure to work on the assumption that: in the event of doubt take a note. The solicitor who is investigating the accident will be able to criticize you for taking multiple photographs and videos at the location of the accident. It’s the right thing to do.
6. Visit your doctor and/or hospital whenever you feel like it.
It is possible that you have visited your GP or visited a hospital for treatment of your injuries. It is possible that you are recovering well. However, I would suggest that you visit your GP or the hospital at least as often as you feel is necessary. Be aware of your body.
If, for instance, that you sought only medical treatment once (at the moment of the accident) the majority of medical professionals are likely to conclude that your injuries only lasted for a couple of months. This is because they believe that when an injury causes chronic, serious problems, the person injured should need to seek medical care.
If it isn’t, this impression could seriously weaken your claim. Medical experts are the ones who determines the severity of your workplace accident – in accordance with their medical advice. It’s not the personal injury lawyer or you. lawyer.
What newspapers and the government won’t inform you about is that when you’re successful in your work-related accident claim the medical expenses that you incur through your employer’s NHS will be covered through your employer’s liability insurance. Thus, the success of personal injury claims is great for society.
7. Keep a journal of every symptom you notice
It’s difficult to quantify the importance of you to keep a fresh list of your symptoms whether it’s written on paper or on a computer or even on your phone.
Nurses and doctors do not always take note of all the specifics regarding your health issues. Every time, our clients inform us that when they had their workplace accident there were numerous injuries, but the hospital was focusing on those they considered to be the most severe at the moment.
In my experience the passing of time can turn injuries around. What might appear to be the least tiny aspect of your work injury right after it occurs could turn into a chronic painful, debilitating illness – perhaps the most serious accident.
If a physician or nurse didn’t note the minor injury during the appointment and a medical professional is writing a report months or years later will be unable to link the accident to the injuries you sustained at work.
Furthermore personal injury lawsuits can require a lengthy time to settle especially in cases where the injury is serious and last for a long time. The memories naturally fade with time, and a note of the symptoms you have experienced will help you in explaining the consequences of your workplace accident to a medical professional.
In the alternative, if you’re not interested in writing an account of your symptoms, you could film yourself talking about your symptoms.
8. Note your losses and expenses
The goal of the compensation offered in an accident work claim is to place you back in the same position you’d be in had the accident not occurred. Every case is unique. If, for instance you were unable to pay your bills because of an accident, you must be able to recuperate the entire amount of pay lost. In the same way, if you been denied the opportunity to earn the bonus or get a promotion, then all future losses are recoverable as well.
In addition, you are able to typically claim for all types of losses. Some examples include:
The loss of enjoyment from an already-planned holiday
Assistance and care from family and friends (our Legal Library also contains an online form to assist you in recording this)
The cost of heating has increased
Cost of travel include e.g. for medical appointments or therapy sessions
This list is just scratching the surface.
Noting down your losses in the event of losses ensures you don’t lose track of all of them. Like we said an injury claim arising from accidents at work can take a while to resolve, therefore it’s important to write the losses you’ve made payments in connection with injuries or accidents while you’re at it. It doesn’t matter if you’re on paper, on a smartphone, or a computer simply record the losses to ensure that you don’t leave these out of your claim.
Proving your losses is also essential – therefore, keep any evidence to prove your losses. Take photos of your receipts and then send them to the personal injury lawyer you have chosen.
9. Think about the possibility of submitting a grievance
An official grievance can be described as a complaint regarding the issue that you face at work of work.
If you’ve sustained an injury in the workplace due to the defect of equipment, for example or a slippery floor or the fact that you had to manually lift too much of the weight, you are entitled to the right to make a complaint to your employer regarding the incident. This is true even if there’s already had an investigation into an accident.
If the grievance you have submitted is well-written the employer should not be able to consider it a slander against you. Moreover, it can help improve working the working conditions at the workplace you work in.
It is nevertheless crucial to know your rights as an employee in the event that your employer doesn’t respond in a timely manner to your complaint. If your employer doesn’t take the proper steps to investigate your grievance and you quit in the process, it could lead to an action for constructive dismissal (though you should seek specific legal advice regarding employment before you taking a decision to quit).
Additionally, if your employer does not treat you favorably due to your complaint there could be grounds to file a whistleblowing complaint under the law of employment.
10. Submit Subject Access Request
Submitting a Subject Access request permits you to request copies of every piece of details your employer has regarding you. That includes emails where you are mentioned , as well as your personal and occupational health documents.
As you might imagine, it could reveal details about the incident at work that could not have been disclosed to you in advance. If you’d like to find out what information the employer has on you, whether it’s simply out of curiosity or simply because you think it could aid any future compensation claim the Subject Access Request could be extremely useful.
If you’re considering submitting an Access Request for Subjects to your employer, it is recommended that you do this prior to filing any claim based on an accident. The reason is that when the claim has been filed the employer could say that they don’t need to comply fully in accordance with your request. The requirements for disclosure of details during an injury case are more restrictive than the broader regulations in the Data Protection Act 2018 (which applies to Subject access requests).
Learn more information on how to file Subject Access Requests via the Information Commissioner’s Office website. The Information Commissioner oversees the compliance of individuals to GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.
11. Keep in mind that you are subject to an expiration date to file a claim.
If you’re thinking of filing a claim on behalf of the workplace injury you sustained it is essential to keep in mind that you are only given the time in which to make a claim.
For the majority of workplace injury claims, you’ll need to either settle the claim or initiate legal proceedings within three years after the date of your accident. If you fail to do so take action, you could be denied from claiming damages for the accident.
The deadline could be pushed back quickly, so my suggestion is: If you’re unsure about any claim take advice as soon as you are able to.
12. Contact a specialist accident at work lawyer and not a call center operator
Always ensure that the legal advice you receive is from the most reliable source. This includes an expert personal injury lawyer with expertise in the field of negotiating successful workplace accident claims.
Since the majority of accident at work compensation claims are based under a ‘No-Win, No Fee’ system and the hourly rate that the lawyer typically charges is not a factor. So why should you hire the services of a paralegal instead of an expert?
If you decide to claim, be sure you have legal representation whom you are confident in. In most cases, an insurance firm or union will choose solicitors for you, however, it’s your decision and you have the right to select a firm of solicitors you believe in.
Contact us to arrange a complimentary consultation, with no pressure or commitment to go further.
- Business news from the UK, Europe and beyond.
- October 5, 2024 8:34 pm