Workplace injuries are a reality for any business with employees. Even if you have a low-key office, your workers are susceptible to trips and falls—or even exposure to cleaning chemicals.
There were about 2.8 million workplace injuries in 2018, impacting all industries from retail to manufacturing.
Your business needs to be prepared in case there’s an injury at your business. You need to have a workers’ comp claims process in place to be able to handle those claims effectively and legally.
Read on to learn more about this process and what you should have in place at your business.
What Is Workers’ Compensation?
Workers’ compensation is a type of insurance that states require all businesses with employees to have. As soon as you hire employee #1, you need workers’ comp.
Workers’ compensation insurance is an insurance policy that you get through private insurance companies. The policy will cover employees’ medical expenses and lost income in the case of injury on the job.
This is important for your business to have because employees can’t sue your business if you have insurance coverage. Bear in mind that you have to have the right policy with the right amount of coverage.
There are industries that are seen as high-risk, which will require special coverage.
The Process When an Employee Gets Hurt on the Job
What does the workers’ comp claims process look like? These are some of the things that you need to have in place to have a complete process that protects your business and your employees’ rights.
Reporting the Injury
The first step in the claims process is that you have to know that there’s an injury on the job. An employee needs to report the incident as soon as it happens.
The longer they wait to report the incident, the harder it is to prove that the injury occurred on the job. It’s imperative to train employees hat all incidents need to be reported, not just for workers’ compensation, but to spot opportunities to improve safety standards at your business
Advise Employees of Their Options
You or your HR manager will have to explain to the employee what their options are. There will be paperwork to fill out that has the details of the incident.
You can also advise them that they can and should see a workers’ comp doctor that will assess their injuries and the ability to return to work.
You’ll have to submit your claim to the insurance company for approval. There are many cases where workers’ comp claims are denied.
Your insurance company will have an appeals process. It will be between you and your employee to navigate that process. At that point, an employee may decide to work with an attorney to get the insurance company to pay.
Understanding the Workers’ Comp Claims Process
Workers’ compensation is a must for all businesses with employees. You don’t want to be left in a position where an employee can sue your business if they get hurt on the job.
That’s why a workers’ comp claims process is so important. You have a process in place to protect your business and your employees.
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Photo by Simon Abrams on Unsplash
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