The HR (Human Resource) manager of a company is responsible for ensuring the employees’ engagement and productivity. They’re also in charge of the ongoing development and retention of employees. More importantly, the employees working in your HR department have a duty to keep the company safe against lawsuits, workplace chaos, and safety risks.
This means that if you’re an HR manager in your company, you should ensure the safety of all the employees at work. However, there’s always a high possibility that one of the employees will get hurt. In that case, you must know how to handle work-related injuries in the workplace.
Below are the five steps to take after your worker gets injured on the job:
1. Respond To The Injured Employee Immediately
As someone in charge of all employee-related matters, it’s crucial to act fast during a workplace accident. For instance, you should go to the accident scene with the safety officer to take the injured worker to a safe area and ask the other employees to clear the vicinity. Evaluate the situation by ensuring no one else was injured and get a first aid kit to treat the injuries while waiting for the ambulance.
Once the responders arrive, provide the injured employee with immediate medical care. By doing so, you can show the employee that they’re supported throughout their recovery.
2. Investigate The Accident
Typically, employees injured in the workplace may be entitled to workers compensation benefits. But your worker’s claim for these benefits may be rejected without proper supporting documents.
Thus, as an HR manager, you have the duty to investigate the accident to know what really happened. When you conduct an investigation, you can obtain some valuable pieces of evidence to support their claim and increase their chances of getting approval. Once the claim is approved, the injured victim will receive medical and financial assistance from your workers’ compensation insurance carrier.
When investigating the accident, make sure to take photos of the area where the incident happened. This can be a wet floor or misplaced or defective equipment that contributed to the accident. CCTV (closed-circuit television) footage can help. If these are available, review them and get the necessary information that will provide weight to witness testimonies.
3. File A Workers’ Compensation Claim
Once you have the documentation in place, it’s time to talk to the injured employee and discuss the next step of the process: filing a workers’ comp claim. As an HR manager in your company, make sure to provide them with a claim form and assist them with the paperwork. If they decide to pursue a claim, you need to call your workers’ compensation insurance company and report the accident and the injury.
Moreover, be prepared to file a form, known as the First Report of Injury, as well as the supporting documents. Make sure to do the filing within the time allowed to avoid losing your workers’ right to recover the benefits they deserve.
Also, by helping your worker file a claim, you can ensure that no lawsuit is filed against the company. You see, employees can’t file for a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury lawsuit at the same time. Therefore, by supporting your workers immediately after an accident, you protect them from further medical emergency issues and your company from further legal dilemmas.
4. Cooperate With The Insurance Carrier
As a company representative in terms of employee matters, it’s your responsibility to cooperate with the insurance company and the injured employee’s lawyer to speed up the claims process. Since they’ll likely ask for all forms of documentation and employee files, don’t hesitate to hand them over to streamline the application process. Also, don’t forget to do the necessary follow-ups with the insurance company to ensure a quick resolution of your claim.
5. Prevent Future Workplace Accidents And Injuries
Workplace accidents and injuries can happen anytime. But if you, as an HR manager, want to reduce the risk of injuries in the workplace in the future, you need to take some steps. First, invest in proper safety training and provide adequate resources for the employees. Second, ask the building officer to inspect and conduct maintenance regularly.
By doing all these things, you can keep the workplace safer for all employees, which is crucial for the company’s overall growth.
Bottom Line
Being an HR manager comes with several responsibilities, and one of them is to ensure the health and safety of the company’s workforce. But if an accident happens and an employee gets injured, it’s essential to keep the steps mentioned above in mind. That way, you’ll know exactly what to do to handle the situation, protect the rights of the employees, and obtain a more favorable outcome.
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