For many people, the probability of being injured at work is pretty low. If you work a desk job, the ways in which you can be hurt whilst doing your job are minimal. However, if you work a manual labor job or are in any kind of construction role, more things can go wrong. Getting injured at work means that you will be eligible for compensation. This article aims to tell you everything you need to do to get compensation after being injured at work.
Get A Lawyer
Getting a lawyer won’t be your first step after being injured but it is the most important. You need a professional who can fight your corner and make sure that you get all the compensation you deserve. You can be sure that the company you work for will be hiring a really good lawyer to defend themselves, so they can try and show that they were not at fault. As mentioned at SawayaLaw.com, hiring a lawyer is one of the ways you can help yourself get the compensation you deserve for a workplace injury. Although you might be good friends with your bosses and they might try to offer you some kind of deal, speak to a lawyer first to see what kind of sum you should be awarded. Getting a lawyer is one of the most important steps in getting compensation after being injured at work.
Report Your Injury To Your Supervisor
As soon as you get hurt, you need to alert your supervisor or manager. In most cases, this will probably just happen anyway, especially if you work with other people. For some people, who tend to work alone but as part of a company, it’s important to get in touch with your direct manager straight away and tell them what has happened. This allows for the company to enact its system of response immediately and makes it easier to get compensation down the line. They may have a doctor they trust who will assess you which will make the process of deciding on compensation easier. If you just take yourself off to hospital then your company won’t know exactly what happened. To make sure that you get the compensation you deserve you have to keep your company in the loop.
Get Medical Help
Once you’ve notified your supervisor of the situation you need to seek medical attention. Whether this is with a company doctor or just going to the hospital, you need to have your injuries assessed straight away. If your bosses try to recommend that you don’t go to the hospital straight away, ignore them. For compensation to be awarded appropriately there must be a record of your injuries on the same day that they happened. If you go home and try to sleep it off it will be harder to prove that the injury happened at work. Getting medical help is essential when trying to get compensation for a workplace injury.
Keep Your Own Records
By getting medical attention you will have official records of what happened but it is also really important that you make your own notes. Take pictures of your injuries and write down how you feel frequently. Make sure that you also write down a detailed account of what happened up until you had the accident, in case you forget anything. Although you might be in pain and writing down what just happened might seem like the last thing you want to do, you must try to record and remember it. This evidence will be vitally important if your compensation case goes to trial and will help you make your case.
Get What You Are Owed
Workplace injury lawsuits can be messy and it’s intimidating taking on your boss. However, if you were harmed in a preventable accident that was caused by your companies negligence then you are more than entitled to some compensation. To make sure that you get the maximum amount that you are owed you should do these things; get a lawyer, report your injury to your supervisor, get medical help, and keep your own records. Your bosses will likely try to get you to not file an official suit as it will cost them a huge amount of time and money. If they offer you a settlement sum that seems large, you’ll know that they think they’ll have to pay way more when it goes to court. Do everything you can to make sure you get what you are owed for your injury at work.
