What to do if you have a fall at work

Injuring yourself at work can be extremely stressful and knowing what the right steps to take when it happens can be hard to figure out. Luckily, it isn’t as complicated as it may seem at first. If you are reading this article because you are not sure what to do after a slip and fall accident due to negligence, hopefully, we will answer some of your questions.

Focus on the injury

Immediately after it happens, your workplace-appointed first aider should be treating your injury. Every single workplace is required, by law, to have a first aid kit and somebody who is trained in using it. If a colleague comes who is not first aid trained, tell them to bring the first aider to you immediately. If you are unsure of the severity of your accident, stay still.

If the accident does not require an ambulance or immediate care, let your first aider assess you and decide the next steps. If you received any kind of impact on the head, you need to go to the hospital, no matter what. A colleague should join you.

Report the accident.

All workplace accidents must be reported. The sooner you can report, the better. In cases that end up involving compensation claims, this is extremely important. If you do not report the incident, you are giving your employer the chance to dispute the accident happened, or that it happened the way you said it did.  Also, reporting it will help you file the compensation if your employer does not pay heed to the case. You can discuss the case with a slip & fall attorney to know the further course of action; read more here. Reporting an accident can be scary. And there can be a lot of pressure put on employees by their bosses to keep quiet about workplace accidents.

Just think about this, if the accident could have been avoidable, and might happen again, would you want your co-workers to go through it when you could have stopped it from happening?

Every single business should have some sort of accident reporting system in place. Usually, it is in the form of an accident book. If your employer is not co-operative in letting you report your accident in the accident book, send them an email reporting it. This way there is proof you tried to report it.

Gather evidence

If you are going to pursue your employer for negligence, taking photos and videos of the accident location and any potential hazards can be very beneficial for your case.

Keep a record of your losses and expenses

If you are trying to claim compensation for an accident at work, the goal is to put you back in a similar state to how you would have been without the accident. If you lost pay due to work missed because of an accident, this can be claimed back. If you lost the chance at a promotion that you were applying for, this can be considered as well.

Claims against companies for negligence have seen a sharp rise in recent years. People are not letting their employers bully them into staying quiet. By following the steps above you should have the best chance at getting the result you want after an accident at work.