Getting into any type of injury is a very bad situation to be in, however in the workplace is even worse for some people. In workplace injury situations it is best to remember the things in this blog to further the chances of winning your suit against your workplace.
In this blog I will go over some things that should directly help you and your team of lawyers to win their case. The main things to keep in mind first is how and what are the resources needed to win your case. These are:
- How the accident happend
- Your employer didn’t have adequate protection to protect you or others from injuring themselves
- How getting injured in has adversely affected your life including the financial aspects
There are some steps you should take to first
- Get Medical Attention
- Report The Incident To Your Employer/Manager/HR
- Collect Witnesses To The Incident
- Collect Pictures Of The Place The Incident Took Place
- Make Notes Of Injuries, Treatments and Recovery
- Write The Full Detail Of Your Recollection Of The Incident
- Keep All Records Of Financial Losses Due The Incident
These are further explained in detail below for your understanding
Get Medical Attention
Once injured you should first focus on yourself, you should rush to the Hospital depending on the severity of the accident.
You should go to the ER and get a full checkup on yourself. The results of which will help your lawyer argue in court about the severity of the injury and how it adversely affected you. This step is very important as it makes a paper trail of proof that can help your case greatly.
The report of the ER should give your lawyer information about the date, time, a description of your injuries and this may also include some doctor’s notes.
Report The Incident To Your Employer/Manager/HR
After you are injured you should also report the incident to your Employer. Your employer is by law supposed to report this incident and create an accident report.
You can also request a copy of the accident. These things can greatly affect your case and help your lawyers make a stronger case for you. You should keep in mind that the more evidence you collect and the more evidence supporting your words is better for you.
Keeping this in mind you should keep everything in writing and have copies of all written and electronic exchanges.
Collect Witnesses To The Incident
In your workplace you might have some other people that aren’t your coworkers or they even may be your coworkers. These people that are witnesses to the incident should be noted and you should talk to them. Try and collect these independent witnesses to the incident and collect their information for a later date.
You can also create physical notes of their recollection of the way the accident occurred so as to further help make your case. You should hand over this contact information you receive off to your lawyers so they can collect this as evidence and can contact these witnesses to appear in court as witnesses.
Collect Pictures Of The Place The Incident Took Place
Most workplace related injuries occur due to some mis-management from the management. This includes a wet floor without any signs, uneven flooring, potentially hazardous items being placed in your workplace without warning and such similar incidents.
Any item that caused your accident, you should take pictures of these items. This can further backup your claim and can help your case.
Make Notes Of Injuries, Treatments And Recovery
After all the above is said and done, the next step you should take is writing everything down regarding your injuries, treatment process and recovery time.
- In Injuries, you should jot down how it happened, what the doctors say about it and take images if possible directly after the incident and whilst being treated.
- After the initial hospital trip you should make and keep copies of whatever prescription and diagnosis received from the doctor. These will come incredibly handy when in court.
- When in your recovery and treatment stage you should keep notes of how the injury has adversely affected your daily life and go into as much detail as possible
- In this whole process you should still remember to take as many photographs of your wounds healing over time and you should detail the whole process.
- Something I and other lawyers also recommend is that you should keep a diary in which you are writing all of this down and keep digital copies as well.
- When you receive any written items from the doctor/hospital you should keep copies of that safe including notes, treatments and even receipts.
Write A Full Recollection Of The Incident
You should keep a full book of all your logs from injury to recovery. A written article of evidence is the best thing that can help you and create a better situation for you in court. Having digital and physical copies of your recollection can serve as great evidence and would be very hard for the opposition to throw out.
Keep Records Of All Financial Losses Due To The Incident
The biggest burden of getting injured especially in the USA is that everything is expensive, this expense increase when you’re getting paid less. After being injured in most cases you would see a decline in amount of hours worked all because of the injury and not being able to work as much.
All of these expenses are going to be covered and will be what lawyers seek to gain for you. Furthermore any expense you bear because of this injury can also be comped. You should keep receipts of all items that you would’ve had to purchase due to this incident. These items may include
- Transport To & From The Hospital
- Painkillers
- Medication
- Casts
- Operation Costs & All Medical Bills
- Support Items For Normalizing Your Life ( Wheelchairs etc.)
- Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation.
With all of these things kept in mind you should be fully covered on all bases and should make your case much more solid.