Almost 3 million workplace injuries occur every year. That only accounts for injuries that are reported.
If you’re injured while on the job, you should always feel confident filing a report as you’re likely entitled to benefits. To receive said benefits, filling out work injury reports properly is a must as a poorly managed reports result in denied claims.
While your supervisor or HR manager will walk you through what information they need to complete their records after an injury, knowing the basics of what you’ll be asked to provide can go a long way in helping you prepare. Below, we share five key pieces of information that you’ll want to collect from your accident/relay to supervisors.
1. What Happened and Where
The most key element that’s featured in workplace injury reports is what took place and where the event occurred. It’s important when describing what took place that you outline your event as accurately and in as much detail as possible. Furthermore, make clear that your injury happened during work hours and while managing company business.
If you were injured off-site while conducting company business, you’re likely still entitled to benefits.
2. Who Witnessed the Event
Not every workplace injury will have witnesses. If yours does, your case will go a lot more smoothly.
If possible, after your event takes place, take note of who assists you and who’s in the vicinity. If you don’t know your bystanders, take down their information so it can be listed in your injury report.
3. The Suspected Cause of Your Accident
When assessing an accident, insurance adjusters will attempt to prove that an event happened due to employee negligence. To help move investigations away from that conclusion, go on record in your report with what you believe caused your accident.
Remember, the cause of your event might not be immediately clear based on your description of what took place. That’s why you must single out any factors you believe were propagated by company negligence.
4. Whether or Not You Were Offered/Pursued Treatment
Your company should immediately offer you medical attention after an accident. You’re under no obligation to take treatment but will likely need to sign a form stating that you declined if you don’t. Whether or not you accepted medical treatment will also be recorded in work injury reports.
As an aside, declining medical treatment may work against you if you choose to take your injury case to court so we recommend Googling “orthopedic doctor near me“, “local chiropractor”, etc. to get looked over for safety’s sake.
5. Affected Parts of Your Body
If not immediately clear, be prepared to describe the extent of your injuries to your supervisors when they take a report. If medical professionals are on the scene, you can describe your injuries to them as well.
Injuries described to medical professionals will be added to your medical record which can be called on later.
Well Managed Work Injury Reports Lead to Well Taken Care of Victims
After a workplace injury, most people aren’t thinking about how best to describe their event. Unfortunately, those people are likely going to leave valuable benefits on the table.
Do what you can to be prepared to effectively fill out work injury reports. Doing so could mean the difference between a comfortable recovery and serious financial struggles.
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