Workers compensation is a great asset for any business. Because it protects your employees from the expenses that can result from an injury that happened at work, every business should have it to fully protect everyone in the workplace.
However, no matter how careful you instruct your employees to be and what precautions you take, accidents always happen and before long, at least one of your workers is going to get hurt. The injury can be almost anything - a strain, a cut, or the beginning of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Depending on your relationship with your employees, the injured worker should have no cause to call a lawyer - unless you make one of the common mistakes that drives employees to do just this.
Here are the most common mistakes employers make when dealing with a workers compensation claim. It's these mistakes which cause employees to run for their lawyers:
Failing to provide medical care immediately. If you stall on providing the medical treatment for an at-work injury, your employee is going to be upset. Even those who don't know anything about workers comp know that they are entitled to a doctor's visit.
Violating the doctor's restrictions. Obeying the doctor's orders is crucial. They give these orders so that the injured employee can get better. If you attempt to steer your employee away from what the doctor has said to do, your employee is not going to like it.
Poo-pooing physical therapy. Depending on the injury, you might view physical therapy as unnecessary. That doesn't matter. If you don't allow your employee to go to their physical therapy appointments, watch out! You're making a mistake that could lead to litigation.
Working with pushy case managers. What's a great way to make your injured employee angry? Send a pushy case worker along with them to doctor's appointments! And under no circumstances should the case manager go into the examining room with an injured worker.
Failing to make the workplace safe. The most common workplace injuries happen due to faulty equipment or dangerous work areas. When employers fail to address malfunctioning equipment or unsafe areas, an injury is more likely to result in legal action.
Don't find yourself getting caught up in a legal battle because of these easy-to-avoid errors! For more information on workers compensation insurance, contact us today! We're Collins Insurance, an independent insurance agency based in Ludlow, Massachusetts.
Comments(1)