Accidents at work happen all the time and very often the consequences can be very severe for the victim, who in most cases is not at fault. This is something which I have personal experience of and two years ago I was involved in an accident involving a fork lift truck, which had not been stored away properly. During this difficult time I was thankful to be able to count on the wonderful legal team at the Dolan law firm, who managed to bring about some justice for me.

Naturally you will hope that you are never involved in an accident in the workplace, but it is worth being prepared and knowing what to do, should anything happen in the future.

Assess the Injury

Naturally your first step will be to review the damage and seek medical assistance if needed. All workplaces are obligated to have a first aid kit on site and if it is more serious, you should seek medical attention at the nearest hospital.

Reporting the Injury

Under employment law, all businesses are required to have an accident log and you must fill this in at your earliest possible convenience. The reason why it is better to do this as soon as possible is so that you can give a lengthy account about what happened, without forgetting any details. If anyone witnessed the accident take place, you should ask for them to add their version of events to the accident log, in order to get a fuller picture of what took place.

Taking Evidence

Another supporting piece of information which you will need is some photos or video of the accident taking place. The best case scenario here is that there was a security camera that recorded the accident, if this is the case then speak with the security team or manager, to set aside this piece of evidence.

Track Symptoms

Not all injuries are apparent straight away and especially not in the case of concussion or whiplash, popular problems after a slip or trip. In order to give an accurate representation of what you are suffering, it is important that you track your symptoms for the following weeks after your accident has taken place.

Financial Tracking

If you’re forced to pay out for anything after your accident such as medical supplies or hospital fees, make sure that you have a not of how much this cost. Conversely, if you lose any money as a result of your accident such as loss of income, you should also track how much you have lost in the days and weeks after your accident.

Lawyer Up

Finally you should make sure that you consult a legal team that deals specifically with personal injury claims. Making a claim against your employer is not just about claiming compensation for what you have lost, but also to ensure that protocols are put in place so that the same thing doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future.

Let’s hope it doesn’t happen to you, but you should be sure that you know what to do if it does.