If you own a business, there are a number of important reasons why you should report a work injury as soon as possible, many of which benefit both you and the people who work for you.
Would you do it if there was a simple method to secure better medical care and a quicker recovery for anyone who is injured while working for the company?
What if it was as easy as ensuring that your staff report injuries as soon as they happen?
Yes, there are major advantages to reporting injuries on the job immediately to your workers’ comp insurer. Here are just a few of the advantages to staying ahead of any potential problems.
Improved Medical Treatment
Injured employees are often uncertain about whether or not they need medical attention. That’s why, when reporting injuries over the phone, employees are often given the option of speaking with a nurse. This guards against both under- and over-treatment.
Improved Accident Inquiry
It’s crucial to figure out what led to an accident so you can figure out how to avoid a similar incident again. An investigation into an accident can also help catch a worker who is defrauding the company, even if this is an unlikely occurrence. Interviewing all witnesses and the injured employee as soon as possible can help you understand the situation and what actually occurred. This is important, as you do not want a faded memory of what happened from those interviewed.
Improved communication with medical professionals
You have the opportunity to be strategic in collaborating with medical professionals when you hear about job injuries before your workers seek care. In doing this, you have the option to have the employee get a completed report from a doctor that shows you if there are any limits to their abilities and if you can offer light-duty tasks.
Improved communication with hurt employees
The most effective strategy to avoid lawsuits is to keep in touch with an injured employee and reassure them that they will be able to return to work. If an injured employee believes their jobs are at risk, they turn to lawyers for help. When injuries are disclosed immediately, you have the chance to reassure them that things will be resolved.
Avoid Fines
You can save yourself money by notifying the correct people of injuries as soon as possible to avoid having to pay fines. Aside from avoiding penalties, reporting injuries early has another advantage.
Even if there isn’t the possibility that a claim will be paid out, a company and even the insurer can be hit with fines for late denial of liability if they are not submitted on time. These fines can be up to $5,000 or more.
There are two types of penalties that may be applied. Insurers may be fined both for reporting late and for providing late compensation payments to injured employees. This depends on the jurisdiction, so reporting late can rapidly add up. Depending on which state the injury took place, the insurer may demand compensation from the employer if a penalty is imposed as a result of the company’s reporting the incident too late. In other states, the regulatory agency may penalize the employer directly.
If you have any doubts about the validity of a claim, report it straight away and let the claims representative investigate.
If you’re like most business people, you have a lot to accomplish every day that you have to postpone certain things. Make sure that injury reporting isn’t added to the list. Instead, notify the correct agencies immediately to achieve the best possible result for your employee and your company.
If you need more information, it would be a good practice to check with a legal expert about how to proceed and what to be prepared for. This applies to a slip and fall injury Trenton or slip and fall injuries in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The better your representation, the better the results may be.
The important thing is reporting an incident or injury as soon as you possibly can. Waiting can have a negative impact on the relationship with your employees and possibly your bank account.