As a business owner, you are responsible for the safety of your employees while they are at work. Though you may have the best safety plan in place and have the right insurance plan offering wage loss benefits Oregon, accidents can happen that call for filing a workers’ comp claim. Having a process in place to address an injury that occurs at work can help everything go smoothly, keeping the employee and the paperwork needs taken care of.

Prioritize Medical Treatment

Whenever an employee is injured, always prioritize medical treatment. Whether it is calling 911 for limb- or life-threatening injuries, having a member of administrations take the employee to the emergency room, or the employees visiting their primary care physician, make sure injuries are addressed.

Report the Injury

Once you are certain the employee is receiving the medical attention needed, you need to formally report the injury. Your HR department may have paperwork that needs to be filled out for the insurance company, and getting down all the information while it is fresh on your mind is important.

Stay in Contact With Your Employee

Make sure you stay in constant communication with your employee in the days and weeks following the incident. You need to be supportive of their recovery, but you may need documentation to move their workers’ comp claim forward.

Arrange for Return to Work

Though you want your employee to fully heal before returning to work, you can promote healthy recovery and transition back to work with a modified work duty program. This can help reduce the financial burden on the company with a drawn-out claim, but it also encourages the employee to move back into the routine of the job.

After every safety incident, evaluate current processes and look for ways to reduce a similar event in the future. Always prioritize the wellbeing of your employees, working toward injury prevention plans.