You deserve to be safe while earning a living, but sometimes workplace accidents do happen, and they’re not always minor. Whether the accident was due to a personal mistake, or a health and safety hazard, you should know what to do afterwards – for the sake of your health, and your colleagues.
Always put health first
Putting yourself first can be difficult at times, but injuries aren’t something you should take lightly. Recovery should be one of your top priorities, and rushing back into the workplace before you’re ready is going to have potential lasting damage. The first thing you should do is ensure you’re alright, which could mean seeing a healthcare professional. An injury or strike to the head might feel like just a bump at first, but these kinds of injuries won’t always reveal the full problem for hours or even days. Get assessed, and find out how much time you need to recover.
Report the accident
Don’t let the accident go unnoticed. If it was the result of negligence, or poor health and safety practices in the workplace, then something needs to be done about it. Your employer is legally obligated to report the accident, and you can go from there to work towards the appropriate solution.
You’ll also want to consider personal injury lawyers to help you handle things. If the accident at work wasn’t your fault, then you may be due compensation, and that’s something you may need legal representation for. Your lawyer will walk you through what needs to be done, and who you need to talk to in order to get started.
Reporting the incident to your colleagues can also help to ensure the same injury doesn’t happen to them. Poor health and safety practices can be evaluated and corrected, and measures can be taken to prevent something like this from happening again.
Take photos
Having evidence of the accident is important, but it’s not always going to be easy to collect that evidence if you’ve been seriously injured. Reporting the incident to your colleagues can ensure that you get the photos you need. These photos are important forms of evidence that you may need to prove that the accident happened and that it wasn’t your fault. Some companies may use the time that you’re going to be away from work to cover up what happened – and you’ll need to prove that you’re in the right.
Log your symptoms
Being able to openly communicate with your doctor is important, and if you’re going to properly gauge the severity of your condition, recording all of your symptoms is important. Having a complete record of these will make it easier for your doctor to diagnose and aid your situation, and you can be sure that you’re kept in good health. Just because your injury seems to be minor at first, as mentioned before incidents such as head trauma can take a while to show, and you should be aware that symptoms may come and go.