Sustaining an injury can be a nightmare for many reasons, and it’s important that you know how to handle the situation when it happens. Not only can it affect you physically, but you might struggle financially if you’re out of work. If the accident isn’t your fault, then there are actions you can take that might lead you to some compensation for it, meaning that you won’t be completely out of pocket!
Look after yourself
The first thing you should be doing if you’ve been in an accident at work is making sure you’re okay, worry about not escalating the injury further. Don’t rush to your feet, and see if there’s anyone around who can help you. If the injury is serious and you can’t look after yourself in this situation, it may be better to call out for help, especially if you work somewhere with no one around.
You may even have to call for medical assistance if there is no one around to do it for you. Don’t ignore your injury if you are in need of emergency care, and remember that not all serious injuries are immediately apparent. If you have hit your head but think you are fine, it’s still worth going to the hospital as soon as possible to make sure you haven’t done any damage!
Report the incident
Once you’ve managed to recover or at least get back on your feet, you should report the injury to a colleague or manager, this way it will be taken note of. Most businesses are legally required to have an accident book to log this in, so make sure it’s taken note of there also! You don’t want your injury to go unnoticed, for the safety of yourself and others – things may need to be made safer to ensure no further injuries happen the same way.
Legal action
If you are aiming to take this further than just a report and would prefer to get a lawyer, you might consider getting evidence of what happened. Taking some pictures with your phone, or seeing if there were any witnesses who would be willing to back up what happened – it’s best that you’re able to prove that the accident wasn’t your fault!
You should also call a personal injury lawyer to help you with this, as you’re not going to want to represent yourself; you risk losing the case this way! Solicitors at Javier Villarreal Law Firm practice personal injury and can help you in the case of a workplace accident. If you feel like you deserve compensation, a lawyer is the best way to go!
No one should have to deal with being injured at work when it was something out of their control, but you can take what happens afterward into your hands and make sure that you get the best out of a bad situation. Don’t hesitate to go after what you deserve when things like this happen, the more you wait, the less likely you are to succeed!