Companies should always prioritize the safety of their workers, especially if their job has an inherent risk of danger. The provision of safety equipment and conducting periodic safety seminars are effective at preventing a significant amount of safety incidents and thousands of dollars in workers’ compensation claims.

The human resources department in a company is responsible for catering to workers and ensuring they have everything they need to be productive and safe in the workplace. Unfortunately, no matter what HR professionals do to prevent them, onsite accidents can happen. Whenever one does occur, HR professionals should keep the following in mind:

Injured employees have a right to seek compensation

Employees who sustain injuries because of a workplace accident are allowed to seek compensation. Companies are expected to have insurance that covers such incidents and should focus on helping the affected workers recover fully, especially if they are unfit to work. Learn more about this on the myMatrixx website.

It is essential that HR professionals are empathic and place themselves in the shoes of the injured worker. They should resist the urge to deny the employee’s claims or compensate them less than they deserve if their claims are legitimate. 

Injured employees can file a personal injury claim after applying for workers’ compensation

If an injured employee feels their employer is to blame for the accident, they can file a personal injury claim. Sometimes, employers make their workers do tasks they know can be dangerous without taking the necessary precautions or training them adequately. They can be liable for accidents that result from such conduct, regardless of whether they provide workers’ compensation to the affected person.

HR professionals should anticipate this personal injury claim and not offer the claimant a bribe or intimidate them into dropping their claim. These actions can be used as evidence against the company in court.

Injured employees have legal protection from retaliation

The management team of some companies might decide to retaliate against an employee who files for workers’ compensation but this is a bad idea. There are laws that prohibit employers from this conduct and protect injured workers.

Any company that fires workers or worsens their working conditions because they justly sought compensation can be sued. HR professionals should calmly explain to the management team that retaliation is not a valid course of action. Instead, they should focus on giving the injured worker their due compensation.

Workers’ compensation payments can be prolonged

Some workplace accidents can cause long-term injuries and they qualify affected workers for long-term workers’ compensation. There are also situations where working environments slowly worsen employees’ health due to the nature of said environment. 

For example, workers in a chemical processing plant can inhale tiny amounts of unhealthy chemicals for years. The accumulated effect of these chemicals may leave the exposed workers with long-term injury. These injured workers can seek long-term compensation to cater to their reduced health state.

Endnote

Companies should prioritize workplace safety and the health of their employees at all times, so they should provide safety equipment for any unsafe task and ensure employees work carefully. Whenever an employee is injured while working, they are entitled to workers’ compensation. Human resource professionals should ensure they are fairly compensated without intimidation or retaliation. 

Photo by Amy Hirschi on Unsplash

Editor’s note: Labour legislation differs from country to country so it’s important for you to verify the legally correct procedures in your particular country.

Guest Writer