A work-related injury is an injury that is the direct result of an event or exposure in a place of work. Workplace injuries go beyond physical injuries, they could also be mental disorders, diseases, or even death.
Furthermore, a work-related injury doesn’t have to occur in your work environment. It could also happen while you are on your way to or from work, or while you are on a scheduled work break.
Company owners and management should ensure to do everything they can to prevent an accident in their workplace environment. They must also have a first-aid kit and a committee of safety.
How to Deal with Work-Related Injuries
Accidents that happen at work can be stopped. This doesn't mean that they don't happen, though. If an injury at work is very serious, it needs to be taken care of quickly. This is why employees need to be trained on what to do if someone gets hurt. Here are a few ways to deal with injuries on the job:
Situation Assessment
This is where you ask questions such as “What is the cause of the accident or injury?” or “How bad is it?” It would help if you first determine the cause of the injury, so you can know how to prevent it in the future. After which, you proceed to analyze the injury severity – knowing this will help you figure out if the person has to be sent to the hospital to receive intensive care or if it can be treated with first aid. When assessing the situation, it is critical to respond quickly, administer first aid, and have someone call 911 or another emergency call line (if the injury is severe).
File a Report
When an employee is a witness to a workplace injury or accident, they must have it reported to their superiors whether the injury is severe or not. This is necessary for appropriate measures to be followed, especially if there is a need for an official report to be filed. Filing a report allows the victim to demand workers’ compensation from the company they work for, especially if the injury was not their fault. Sometimes, injuries can occur when an organization has faulty equipment and facilities.
Every workplace should have a safety committee, and they should be notified of any injuries or accidents. Companies should also evaluate their equipment on a regular basis to identify those that need to be serviced.
Investigate
This must be done if no one saw the accident happen. If you can't figure out what caused the accident, you can look at the area where it happened. If any rules were broken, a report should be made so that things can be put right. Even if you witnessed the accident, you should talk to other witnesses because they might have seen something you didn't or know something you don't. Getting a lot of evidence stops these kinds of things from happening again.
Seek Legal Counsel
This is just another reason you should learn everything you can about the cause of an injury. If an injury is severe enough, the victim or their family may launch a lawsuit against your firm or business. Consulting a legal counsel does not imply that you will not accept responsibility for an occurrence at your workplace. Of course, you must assist the victim, but you must also recognize that your fiscal responsibilities to your organization are critical, and this should only be your final resort.
Work-Related Injuries
Common Physical Injuries:
Lacerations and cuts
Abrasions and burns
Penetrating wounds
Fractures or broken bones
Torn muscles or tendons, injury to wrists, feet, ankles, face, head, shoulders, and back
2. Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals Injuries:
Cleaning products.
Anesthetic gases
Mercury
Disinfectants
3. Fatal Physical Injuries:
However, fatal or critical physical injuries can occur at the workplace, and for such injuries, a first-aid kit would not suffice. Such injuries require the victim to be sent to a hospital facility as quickly as possible. They include;
Injury to the spinal cord
Whole thickness burn that affects over 30 percent of the person’s body
Lasting respiratory damage due to inhalation burns
Blindness
Brain injuries
4. Psychological Injuries:
Anxiety
Depression
Post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD)
Injuries are unavoidable, and they should be expected; but, if there is a technique to reduce the likelihood of them occurring, it should be implemented. The management of the organization as well as the owners are responsible for ensuring that the working equipment is in good condition. However, it is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of sustaining an injury on the job, which is why the article focuses on the procedures that are required to attend to such cases.
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