Steps To Follow After A Workplace Injury: A Quick Guide
Even post-Pandemic, and the new prevalence of ‘at home’ working, many workers still spend more time at work than they do in their homes. It is essential therefore that work environments take all precautions to ensure a safe place of work, and to prevent workplace injuries.
In this short article we’re going to take a look at what some of the common workplace injuries are, as well as talk through the process of what to do after a workplace injury.
What Is A Workplace Injury?
Workplace injuries are quite simply any injury or damage done to you physically whilst at your place of work, or going about your work. Some common workplace injuries are described below.
- Slips and falls can happen whilst working and cause minor fractures and sprains.
- Machinery-related injuries can be caused by inadequate protection or malfunctioning of equipment.
- Chemical or radiation-related effects can occur in many industrial workplaces, and these places must have very strict protective equipment protocols to minimize risk.
- Strain overexertion injuries and repetitive strain injuries can lead to severe long-term pain.
Workplace injuries must be handled carefully and there are often a number of protocols that need to be followed in managing them. So let’s look at, what to do after a workplace injury?
What Steps Should You Follow After A Workplace Injury?
If you are a co-worker and want to help, you should focus on the immediate medical attention needed for the injured worker. If you are a manager, once the immediate injury has been attended to, then you’ll need to look into organising compensation, and the insurance that will cover the injured worker’s longer term recovery. If you are the injured worker then it is important to understand your rights within the company and / or country that you are working in as to the entitlements that you can expect to assist your recovery.
The steps below should be executed sequentially and calmly.
- Tend To The Injured Person
It is essential to treat the injury as soon as you can. You need to get medical attention and focus on the immediate medical needs of the injured worker. First aid should be performed on burns or cuts. CPR and other emergency procedures may be performed as the need arises.
- Investigate The Injury Thoroughly
The cause must be investigated thoroughly. Finding out the cause of the accident is crucial to making amends and helping avoid future injuries. If a machine inflicted wounds, understanding why it malfunctioned and adding layers of protection are necessary.
- File For Reimbursement
When injuries occur in the workplace, the company must pay for all medical expenses - from the medicine taken during the initial recovery period to the rehabilitation programs undertaken over the longer term. You should read through your contract to understand the compensation you might be entitled to over and above the direct medical expenses. If necessary of course legal advice should be sought.
- Seek Rehabilitation Options
Rehabilitation is a crucial step in recovery, with various options available, depending on the type of injury. It is very important that rehabilitation programs are completed to ensure the best possible health outcome. This is where our App LusioMATE can help, particularly when your rehab involves any kind of physical therapy. The LusioMATE app provides an ecosystem of a wearable device, therapy gaming platform and a clinician dashboard for monitoring and prescribing remotely. It is made for players of almost any level of mobility and for any part of the body. It connects to all smart phones and tablets (Android and iOS), smart TVs and TV boxes, and enables players to play games designed to stimulate, engage and create motivation for movement, and to help in the achievement of rehab and all general physical therapy goals.
- Take Precautionary Measures
The most significant step out of the whole ordeal on the company’s part is the changes that should be made to prevent future instances of workplace injury. When an accident occurs, investigation findings must be studied, and changes must be implemented. This could mean adding protection features to a machine or changing the work area's layout to help avoid future injury and keep the workers safe.
Lusio Rehab: Helping Improve Health Outcomes Through Technology
Workplace injuries must be handled responsibly. The company must take complete care and recover the individual affected. Furthermore, it is crucial to launch thorough investigations to understand the cause of the injury, and preventive measures should then be taken to ensure the same injuries aren’t repeated in the future.
Lusio Rehab offers quality rehabilitation programs for workplace injuries to help ensure faster recovery and better outcomes from the injury sustained. LusioMATE has fun and engaging gaming therapy, along with remote monitoring and prescription capability.
For more details, contact us today.
