How to Handle an Employee Who Suffered from a Workplace Injury
If possible, you don’t want anyone to get hurt at work. You will feel terrible if someone gets injured due to a work-related task. However, there are instances when these accidents are inevitable. You need to do the right thing if your employee got hurt while working.
Assist the injured
The first thing to do is make sure that the injured receives medical assistance. The problem can still be solved with immediate help. It’s even better if you have a clinic within the workplace to provide first aid while waiting for an ambulance.
Document the situation
Make sure that the situation is documented. If possible, there should be security cameras in the work area. It allows you to determine what happened and use it as evidence for insurance claims.
Conduct an independent investigation
There should also be an independent investigation regarding what happened. Make sure that it’s an independent body that conducts the investigation to avoid biases. The injured employee might sue the company for the accident, and you have to be open to that possibility. With a thorough investigation, you can determine the right thing.
Don’t be too defensive
Some companies immediately protect themselves and pretend that the accident wasn’t their fault. The truth is that anything can happen. It might be due to the recklessness of the employee, but the work situation might also result to the injury. Instead of being defensive, you have to allow the process to take place. Besides, if you try to pretend that the company didn’t do anything wrong, the employee might bring it to the court of public opinion. It will damage the company’s reputation, and you don’t want that to happen.
Make sure the employee is safe
Ultimately, your goal is to keep the employees safe. You have to treat everyone like family. It’s not about who is right or wrong, but making sure that no one gets hurt. You also don’t want to send the wrong signal to your employees that you don’t care about their safety. You only think about what’s in the best interest of the company.
Prevent the problem from happening again
After determining what went wrong, you can implement changes in the workstations. They will prevent the injury from ever happening to someone else. You also need to improve the steps needed to seek medical assistance as soon as possible. If your company doesn’t have comprehensive insurance yet, you need one. It should be good enough to cover medical expenses and other costs that come with the injury.
Hopefully, you won’t see any of your employees getting hurt while working. It’s not only about the expenses, but the safety of the people who serve as the backbone of the business. They are doing their best to help the company grow. The least you can do is to keep their workplace safe.
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