When an employee suffers an injury at work, you may know to help them get the medical care they need. What should you do if an employee comes to work with an injury? It can be a difficult situation. However, it is important to minimize your liability in this situation. Your workers' compensation insurance may not cover injuries like this. Here are a few things to consider before allowing your employee to begin working for the day.
First Get Them Care
Once a person is on your property, you need to be sure they are safe. If they suffer a further injury while at work, that could become a liability claim for you. As a result, you should stop an employee before punching in. You don't want them to work in a way that makes things worse.
Ask them if they need medical care. And, if they do, get them to a provider. You also want to be sure they can work. If an employee comes to work with a broken arm, is he or she still able to work the heavy equipment? You need insight into what limitations may be present.
Minimizing Your Risks
Workers’ compensation claims pay for injuries or illnesses occurring as a result of workplace accidents an incident. It does not cover accidents related to employee injuries outside the business. For this reason, you need to assess your company’s risks.
- Could this employee suffer further injury if he or she were to work with you? If so, that person may not be able to work today.
- Will this individual make the jobs of others impossible or put others at risk if they work?
- Could they exacerbate an injury? This could lead to a devastating outcome at the expense of your workers’ comp insurance?
Most employees will not try to trick or defraud employers. However, you have to do what it takes to ensure your employees are able to do their job without further risk.
One step you may wish to take is to request a doctor’s note from the employee. The benefit of a doctor’s note is that it can state the employee is safe to work. If a doctor will not write that, then the employee may be at risk. Be sure to understand your company’s rules on this. You also may have some labor laws in your state that may limit the use of these types of medical reports.
Most importantly, do what you can to support your employee. Never admit any guilt in the incident. Work to document the incident thoroughly to reduce your liability risks as well. Contact us to get a Bakersfield business quote today.