Injury at Work – What to do if an Employee is Injured at Work

If one of your employees suffers an injury at work, workers’ compensation insurance from The Hartford, also known as workers’ comp, can give them benefits to help them recover. Your employees also have access to experienced, caring professionals at every step of their recovery.

Workers’ comp requirements vary in each state, but if your business has employees, you’re likely required to have workers’ compensation insurance. Even if your business isn’t required to carry coverage, it’s a good idea to consider it. Without coverage, you might be financially responsible for your employees’ work-related injuries. And, if you can’t cover the costs out of pocket, it can be devastating for your small business.

If You Have an Employee Hurt on the Job, Don’t Panic

Here’s what you should do:

Act fast: If your employee needs immediate medical attention, call 911 or an ambulance to take them to the hospital.

Follow all Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommendations: OSHA requires employers to notify the agency when an employee gets severely injured on the job. You need to report employee deaths within eight hours and hospitalizations, amputations or eye loss within 24 hours. Call the 24-hour hotline at 800-321-6742 or report the incident online.

Review your emergency plan: Follow the steps outlined in your plan for employee injuries. If you don’t have an emergency plan, consider creating one, because it’s best to be prepared for the worst. Your plan should detail the steps for different emergencies, including accidents and fires.

Get employees to a safe place after an injury: Move any other employees in the area to somewhere safe. This can reduce the risk of additional injured workers.

Review the situation: Determine how severe your employee’s injury is and what caused it.

Get information, evidence and photos: Document your employee’s injury with photos. Even if they say they’re fine, you should still note the injury in case of a future workers’ comp claim. You may also want to speak with other employees who witnessed the accident.

Maintain open, honest communication: Be transparent with your employee and insurance company while going through the workers’ compensation claim process.

What to Do When an Employee Is Injured Off the Job

If there’s an employee injured off the job, workers’ compensation insurance won’t provide them with benefits. To receive benefits, your employee’s work has to be the cause of their injury or illness. If there’s an employee injured not at work, their health insurance can help cover the costs of their treatment.

What to Do if Your Employees Get Injured at Work

It’s not uncommon for employees to get hurt on the job no matter what industry you’re in. Whether you’re a general contractor, plumber or even a barber, anyone can get hurt or sick from a work-related cause.

If your employee gets a work-related injury or illness, you should seek medical care for them. Your employee should file a report with you to start the workers’ compensation process. After getting their report, you can start documenting and gathering information about their injury or illness.

Each state has a time limit for filing workers’ compensation claims. You may want to make sure your employees know about any statute of limitations. No matter where you live, the sooner they file an injury report, the better. If they wait too long, your employees could lose their workers’ compensation benefits.

Common Workplace Accidents That Can Cause Employee Injuries

Some of the most common causes of workplace injuries include:

• Slips and falls, such as an employee sliding on ice outside your office or slipping on a wet floor.
• Improper lifting technique, which can cause an immediate injury or a repetitive stress injury, like tendinitis.
• Car accidents while your employees drive for business purposes.

Although these are some of the more common ways your employees can get injured, there are many other ways injuries can happen.

Common types of workplace injury can vary from industry to industry. For example, construction employees may experience different workplace accidents than someone working in an accounting firm.

Most states require businesses to carry workers’ compensation insurance if they have employees. But, there may be exceptions for employees in certain industries, such as:

• Domestic workers
• Agricultural workers
• Seasonal workers

How E-COMP Helps When an Employee Is Hurt on the Job

Workers’ compensation insurance is just one way we help employees and employers at work. With workers’ compensation, we can help pay for your employees’ medical treatments if they get injured on the job. We can also help replace most of their lost income if they take time off from work.

Our team of insurance specialists are here to help you. If one of your employees gets injured on the job, we make filing a workers’ compensation claim easy. Our goal is to help your employee recover so they can return to work quickly.

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