Recovering from workplace injuries and getting safely back to work
If you or anyone you know has suffered an injury in the workplace, you know that the moments immediately following the incident can be pretty hectic. You’re torn between many different competing priorities. You want to get immediate medical help; you also care about ensuring the job continues without interruption. You might additionally be thinking about filling out paperwork to get time off work and/or workers’ compensation.
It can be hard to balance all of the above in the moments right after an injury happens. Obviously, the long-term goal is to get healthy so you can eventually return to work, but that might take a while, and you don’t want to skip any steps on the way there. Make sure you follow the entire process.
Get comprehensive treatment for your injuries
If you’ve been involved in a workplace injury, handle first things first – do what’s best for yourself physically. This is especially important if you’ve had a bad accident. For example, according to The Geelong Advertiser, a construction worker in his 30s recently suffered abdominal injuries after being crushed between a scissor lift and a building at a Surf Coast worksite.
In this situation, the man had to be rushed to a hospital and restored to stable medical condition. This was clearly priority one. If you ever have a situation like this that could possibly be life-threatening, be sure to take care of yourself first before getting into the paperwork and everything else.
Develop a long-term “back to work” plan
After taking care of your basic medical needs, your next priority should be to carve out a long-term plan for returning to work. WorkCover Queensland notes that devising such a plan should be a collaborative plan involving the employee, co-workers, supervisors and medical experts.
It’s important to go through the entire process without skipping any key steps. This should include filling out claim forms, getting treatment and contacting a lawyer to resolve any disagreements that come up.
Get lawyers to evaluate your case
If you need legal help getting to the bottom of a workplace injury dispute, there’s no one better to trust than the experts at Marshall and Gibson Lawyers. Go with us, and you’ll get a bevy of expertise plus a proven track record for getting results.
Talk to us today for a free case evaluation and find out where you stand. No matter what sort of workplace issue you’re dealing with, large or small, you can never put a price on getting peace of mind.