4 Time Periods To Prepare For Before An Organization Experiences An Injury At Work

If a business stays in business long enough, the business is going to experience an injured employee at some time. How a business prepares for and reacts to an injury on the job, goes a long way towards the long term success of the business. Preventing injuries will result in less insurance claims and the claims that are processed will be less severe. When a business is well prepared to deal with an injured worker, the injured worker will be cared for quickly. This will get the injured employee the benefits they deserve quickly and back on the job in a timely manner. This will keep the severity of the claims under control and positively impact the businesses experience modification rating. Finally, businesses that are prepared to get an injured employee back to work in a limited capacity will benefit from happier employees and lower rates for workers compensation insurance now and in the future. Here are four time periods to prepare your business for when it inevitably has to deal with an injured employee.

Pre Claim

Before an injury occurs to an employee, the best thing an organization can do is put in place a system to prevent injuries and prepare for how to deal with them when they do occur. Creating a safety committee is a great way to get multiple key employees involved in developing a culture of safety within an organization. This committee can develop an incident response plan, an incident report form, a safety plan, and even a return to work program.

Day of the Injury

First and foremost, it is always most important to take care of the injured employee. Taking care of the health of any employee should always be of utmost importance to any business. Keeping someone on staff that is trained in first aid and CPR may be helpful. If you do have trained employees the manager on duty should use those skills to adequately take care of the injured employee until medical personnel arrive or the employee can drive to the medical facility themselves. Assessing the scene is crucial. If the business is open to the public, it is important to keep customers away from the injured employee. If the business operates in an office setting, it may be a good idea to keep other employees away from the area of the injured employee. Remember, the other employees in the organization are watching the way you treat an injured employee. How business leadership treats an injured employee speaks volumes to all employees throughout the organization.

Week after the Injury

In the week after an injury, or the week after the injury is reported to management, it is important to have open communication with the employee about the workers compensation process. Do not expect the employee to know how to maneuver the workers compensation system. Some medical facilities may know how to process workers compensation claims and others may not. Going to the proper facility can speed up the time to get claims paid. It can also speed up the amount of time before the injured employee gets their benefits. Explaining this to them can ensure this process runs smoothly. Keeping the employee happy from the beginning can help the process move smoothly throughout.

Month after the injury

Eventually the employee will be ready to return to the job. Creating a return to work program can get injured employees back on the job quicker. The quicker an employee gets back on the job, the more likely they are to return to full time permanent employment. Getting an employee back on the job can limit the severity of an insurance claim. This will positively impact the experience modification rating of the business. This rating will impact what the business pays for workers compensation insurance in the future.