Everybody who goes out to work has the right to come home in one piece. Nobody goes to the job site expecting that they’re going to get injured or hurt, but it’s a risk that we take, especially in jobs that involve construction or building supplies. Injuries and accidents in any workplace are a common phenomenon, but that doesn’t mean that you have to go with it if it happens to you.
Some accidents at work are due to specific issues, but if you have had an accident because you have been put at risk by your employer, then it’s up to you to get a construction accident lawyer to help you to win a case. No matter what your job is, you have a right to employment that keeps you safe. And if something does happen to you when you are at work, you really do need to know what to do, and you should know in advance. So if you have a workplace accident, what should come next?
- Speak to your doctor. It doesn’t matter how minor or how serious the injury that you have acquired may be. You need to seek help from a medical physician. If you get taken to hospital after the accident, ask for a copy of the reports that show your injuries. If there is an immediate danger at work, call the ambulance service and get somebody to come and bring you to hospital. You should also ask a trusted workmate to help you if you need them to. Despite what your boss may tell you, you don’t have to see a company doctor. Instead of your own doctor, you need to get an impartial report, especially if you plan to put in a claim for workers compensation.
- Keep your own record. Make a note of exactly what happened, how it happened, and the time it happened when you were on your work site. If your company doesn’t have an official book or incident report log, you should make time to detail exactly what happened for yourself. The record should be in your words, so don’t let anybody else tell you what to write, even if they were there. If there have been any previous occasions where you have raised the issue of safety to your supervisor, make sure that you put that record in now.
- Always complete your own paperwork. When filling out any paperwork or taking any boxes from the accident, don’t let anybody do that for you on your behalf. You should never put a signature to paperwork that you haven’t written yourself as, even if you have read it back. If your employer is pressuring you to sign anything, make sure that you speak to a lawyer first, because you should never put your signature on anything that releases them from any blame if they are actually to blame.
- Take time off. Again, no matter how small or how big the injury, you need to take some time to recover from it so that the company has time to make the work site safe. Even if they are not using that time effectively, you still have to mentally and physically recover from a trauma.
