If you’ve been hurt during an incident at work, it could 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 could also cause more worries, like what will my life 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. These steps are intended to aid your recovery and place you in the most favorable position should you choose to seek a work injury claim after an accident at work.
1. Concentrate on your well-being
This is probably one of the top things you can do.
After the accident, you must be treated by the first-aid person at your workplace. If not, it could be a sign of a lack of care by your employer since every workplace legally has to provide a first aid kit as well as a designated first aid person.
Then, you should seek an exhaustive examination of the injuries you sustained at work from a competent medical professional as soon as possible following the incident.
Certain types of injuries may appear to be minor at first but can later turn into something much more severe. For instance, head injuries can take a long time or even weeks to show up. In the most severe cases, even a minor injury could turn into a chronic condition if not appropriate treatment.
The golden rule: following an accident, do not do any other aspect of a potential claim ahead of your well-being and health.
2. Then report the incident to your manager
You should inform your manager about the incident, in line with your organization’s procedures for reporting accidents.
If you’ve been involved in an accident that was serious at work, the employer legally bound to report the incident and the Health and Safety Executive (depending on the exact situation and the length of time you are off from work).
Furthermore, in some organizations there is a chance that you may be in violation of the employee manual/procedures if don’t report an accident at work properly.
The issue of who is responsible for the accident is better avoided at this point. If you’re blaming yourself, or even if your boss blames you for the incident it does not mean that the employer is not legally responsible for the incident occurring. The issue of 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. Certain employers might not be able to keep track of an incident in the accident record mostly due to goals to reduce workplace injuries and accidents.
It is vital 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.
The reporting of an accident is a crucial obligation, and it could aid in preventing similar injuries from occurring.
If your employer is refusing to report the incident in the accident record book Then you must contact, or send an email to your employer, so that they receive written evidence of your attempt to file a claim for the accident. Your employer is not able to delete any of your emails that you have sent in particular if it’s an email from your personal account.
If your employer is still refusing to enter the incident into the accident log and this is not recorded, it could be a reason to resign and seek constructive dismissal. But, prior to resigning or taking any other decision, you must consult an employment law specialist. Resigning can be a significant move.
4. Inform your colleagues about the incident and ask for their assistance.
If you were working on your own during the time of your workplace accident Make sure that your coworkers are informed that the event occurred. Particularly, you should inform colleagues you trust most about the incident.
Informing your coworkers about the situation is a wise move for two reasons:
It is a way to prevent similar workplace injuries occurring to others.
It could be helpful in investigations , or in the event that you decide to seek compensation.
The first one is obvious – it’s morally correct to inform others of the risks that caused your workplace injury.
The second makes it more difficult for your employer or insurers to argue that an accident took place as it is something that unfortunately can occur.
Additionally, depending on the severity of the severity of your injuries, it is possible to be out of work for a period of duration following the accident. In the moment following an accident that employers may decide to change equipment or working systems due to an injury at work. While this can be done to enhance safety, at times it can be carried out to “cover” what occurred.
If your employer decides at this time around to conduct any investigation regarding the incident Your connection to the facts may be overlooked while you’re off.
It is essential to keep the fact that managers may exert an enormous amount in the way of stress on employees. They might be able influence more persuasive employees to claim that the accident did not happen. This may sound like a disaster but the fact is that ensuring that you have ‘bulletproof proof’ of the fact that an accident at work occurred is the most effective way to keep your employer, or their insurance company from disproving that the accident occurred.
This is the reason having trusted colleagues with you can be very beneficial. They can make sure that the truth about the event are documented and keep you informed regarding any changes your employer might make in the event of your absence.
5. Make sure you take photos and video of the evidence.
This is in line with the earlier point regarding “bulletproof evidence”.
Videos and photos of the location of the accident immediately after the incident as (safely) feasible, could be a convincing proof. This can help aid in a compensation claim should you decide to file one, or assist you in defending yourself against any false allegations your dishonourable employer could be able to make.
Following an accident at work, you need to behave as an investigator of crime scenes!
Rememberthat you can’t have enough evidence. Be sure to work on the assumption that: in the event of doubt take a note. A solicitor for an accident at work will be able to criticize you for taking numerous photos or video of an location of the accident. It’s the right thing to do.
6. Visit your doctor and/or hospital whenever you feel like it.
You might have visited your GP or visited the hospital with your injuries. It is possible that you are recovering well. However, I would suggest that you visit your GP or the hospital whenever you feel is necessary. Pay attention to your body.
If, for instance your only sought medical attention one time (at the moment of the accident) the majority of medical professionals will conclude that the injuries you sustained only lasted a couple of months. This is because they believe that the injury that is causing severe, ongoing problems, then the person who was injured would need to seek medical care.
If it isn’t, this impression could seriously damage your claim. Medical experts are the ones who decides on the degree of your workplace injury on the basis of their medical opinion. 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 claim for work-related accidents and you are able to prove it, all medical expenses that you incur through NHS NHS will be covered by the liability insurance of your employer. Therefore, the success of personal injury claims is beneficial for society.
7. Keep a journal of all the symptoms you experience
It’s difficult to quantify the importance of you to keep a fresh note of your symptoms whether in writing or on a computer or even on your phone.
Nurses and doctors do not always record all specifics about your ailments. 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 that time is able to transform injuries upside down. The most small aspect of your workplace injury right after it occurs may turn into a lengthy and debilitating issue – possibly the most serious accident.
If a physician or nurse did not record this injury as minor during the appointment and a medical professional is writing a report months or years later, will be unable to connect the injury to an accident at work.
Additionally Personal injury claims may require a lengthy time to settle in particular in cases where the injury is serious and last for a long time. The memories naturally fade with time, and a journal of your symptoms can assist you in explaining the consequences of the accident to the doctor.
If you’re not inclined to keep your diary, you can film yourself talking about your symptoms.
8. Note your losses and expenses
The reason for the purpose of compensation in an accident work case is to get you back in the same position you’d be in had the accident not occurred. Each case is unique. If, for instance that you have lost your pay due to an accident, you must be able to recuperate the entire amount of pay lost. In the same way, if you missed the chance to get the bonus or get a promotion, then all future losses will be able to be recovered as well.
In addition, you are able to generally claim for any kind of losses. Some examples include:
The loss of enjoyment from the holiday you have planned
Help and support from family and friends (our Legal Library also contains an online form to assist you in recording this)
Heating bills are rising.
Cost of travel such as e.g. to appointments with a doctor or therapy sessions
This list is just scratching the surface.
Note down the losses you suffer in the event of losses ensures you don’t lose track of all of them. As we’ve mentioned an injury claim from an accident at work could take a while to resolve, so it’s a good idea to note the losses you’ve made payments because of the accident or injury in the course of your journey. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on paper, on a smartphone, or a computer Just record the loss to ensure that you don’t leave the opportunity to claim them.
The ability to prove your losses is also essential – therefore, keep any evidence to show them. You can also take pictures of your receipts and then send them to your personal injury attorney.
9. You might want to consider making a complaint
An official grievance can be described as a grievance about the issue that you face at work of work.
If you’ve sustained an injury in the workplace due to such things as defective equipment or a slippery surface or the fact that you had to lift manually too heavy the weight, you are entitled to the right to file a claim with your employer regarding the incident. This is true regardless of whether there has had an investigation into an accident.
If your grievance has been correctly written Your employer shouldn’t be able to consider it a slander against you. It can help improve working the working conditions at your workplace.
However, it’s crucial to know your rights under the law if your employer fails to respond in a timely manner to your complaint. If your employer doesn’t adequately investigate your grievance and you quit in the process, it could be grounds for an action for constructive dismissal (though it is recommended that you seek out specific legal advice regarding employment before you taking a decision to quit).
If your employer does not treat you favorably due to your grievance there could be grounds to file a whistleblowing complaint under the employment law.
10. Submit Subject Access Request
Submitting a Subject access request lets you request copies of every piece of information your employer holds regarding you. That includes emails where you are mentioned as well as your occupational health and personnel documents.
As you might imagine, it could reveal details about the incident at work that could not have been disclosed to you prior to the incident. If you’d like to find out what information the employer has on you, whether it’s simply out of curiosity or because you believe it will aid in any future claim for compensation – the Subject Access Request is a great idea.
If you’re considering submitting Subject Access Requests and you are considering it, do it prior to filing any claim for an accident at work. 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 information in the course of a personal injury lawsuit are more restrictive than the broader rules that are in Data Protection Act 2018 (which applies to Subject access requests).
Learn more information about how to make Subject Access Requests on the Information Commissioner’s Office website. The Information Commissioner supervises the compliance of individuals to GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.
11. Be aware that there is the time frame to file a claim.
If you’re considering seeking compensation for an injury at work It is important to keep in mind that you are only given the time to file a claim.
In the case of most workplace accident claims, you’ll need to resolve the claim or start legal proceedings within three years after the date of your accident. If you fail to do so take action, you could be denied from seeking damages for the accident.
The deadline could be pushed back quickly, so my suggestion is: If you’re thinking 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 agent
Always ensure that the legal advice you receive is from the most reliable source. This includes an expert personal injury lawyer with years of experience in settling successful workplace accident claims.
Since most work-related accident compensation claims are based under a ‘No-Win, No Fee’ system and the hourly rate that your lawyer usually charges is not an issue. So why should you hire the services of a paralegal instead of a certified specialist?
If you choose to claim, be sure you’re using legal representatives who you can are confident in. Most of the time, an insurance company or union may choose solicitors for you, however, it’s your choice and you have the right to choose a company of solicitors you believe in.
Contact us today for a no-cost consultation that is free of pressure and with no commitment to go further.
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