Dec 22 2016
How To Recover From An Accident At Work
Accidents can happen everywhere, but it’s always worse when they happen at work. Of course, when they do, it’s hard to think straight. Your priorities, hopefully, are to get better before anything else. They should be, at least. Depending on the severity of the injury, and the time required for recovery, this might mean weeks off work or it might mean a rapid return to top form. Either way, in such a situation, our personal health is often at the forefront of our minds. An unexpected injury can be quite a shocking experience for friends, family and colleagues, especially if it occurs through quite a severe, painful ordeal. But what should you do next?
However bad your work-based injury, the looming thought of what to do next can be quite worrying for some people. You don’t want to suffer twice; first physically and then financially. If you so much as say the wrong thing to the wrong person in your workplace, you could end up being blamed for your own accident, which isn’t fair at all. So what do you do? Well, we have some advice to help get you back on your feet and avoid pointing fingers at work.
First of all, don’t blame yourself for your injury. Just focus on recovering.
Employers are required, by law, to provide a certain level of care to their employees. When they break their duty of care, they have to cover the situation, as detailed by their insurance. If you admit fault for an accident at work, you’re immediately absolving your employer of any blame, and are therefore not entitled to any form of financial compensation for an injury sustained whilst at the workplace or on a job. So don’t do this, because, most likely, you weren’t at fault and you shouldn’t be punished for a safety hazard that your employer or another employee should have checked.
If you tripped or fell because of a slippery, uneven or ill-maintained surface, then that isn’t your fault, and it shouldn’t be up to you to pay for whatever treatment you needed to fix your injury. If you were hurt because somebody else at your workplace was negligent, then why should you pay? You wouldn’t in any other situation, so hold your ground.
Your recovery might take a while, or it may not, but ensure you’ve covered all your bases, so you can have a little peace of mind.
You might have overlooked something important when it comes to discussing the matter with your employer, and it’s important to let them know what happened. You’ve got to think of the safety of other people in your workplace, because I’m assuming you don’t want anybody else to suffer the same way you have. If there’s a safety hazard on the premises, you need to explain it to your employer. That way, he or she will understand that the accident wasn’t your fault and, actually, they’re the one who is most to blame. Certain legal practice areas might be able to help you with this matter, because a professional has the expertise to look over your case with a fine comb and ensure that you’re getting all the compensation you deserve for your specific injury.
Remember to look after your health and go to a doctor.
This is important for so many reasons. Don’t self-diagnose. Get yourself checked out and ensure you’ve not done any real damage, and then you can start thinking about your road to recovery, along with how much time you’ll end up taking off work.
It is incredibly frustrating to have to sit at home for a few days, or a few weeks, because of a workplace injury. It’s no cause for despair though, as most employers will cover you financially, so you’re allowed to make your number one priority the need to simply get better.
