Workplace injuries are very common. If you are unlucky enough to fall victim to a workplace accident, or are in the vicinity when someone else suffers, you must know what to do immediately after the accident. Your actions right after an accident could improve or hinder the chances of a fully recovery. This article will outline some strategies you may wish to employ immediately after an accident.
Legal Implications
Be aware that there are likely to be legal repercussions for any serious workplace injury. For this reason, you should always follow the health and safety policies and procedures that your workplace has established. In most cases, they will have been developed in consultation with a specialist workplace injury lawyer such asPatinos Personal Lawyers.
What Should You Do When An Accident Occurs?
The following is a rough guide of the actions that might be appropriate in the immediate aftermath of an accident. In all cases, you should follow the policies and procedures outlined in your workplace over the advice below.
#1: Move to a safe place
Getting to a safe place following an accident helps to prevent any further accidents from occurring. When you are safely out of the way, you are better able to assess the situation and decide on a course of action.
#2: Assessment of the situation
Assess whether anyone has been injured and any property damaged. Decide whether it is necessary to call emergency services.
#3: Make a call for help
When injury has occurred, professional help should be immediately sought to reduce situational risks and limit the severity of injuries. It’s important to understand your limits and seek emergency services if care of an injured person requires any more than simple first aid. Where you can provide first aid, do this, and take action to stabilise people with major injuries.
#4: Record information
Once injured staff have received adequate attention, document the accident details while the particulars of the accident are still fresh and clear in your mind. It is important to do this as early as possible because time can alter your view of the situation and how you remember it. Depending on their physical condition, obtain contact information from other people involved.
#5: Maintain the evidence
Whenever there is a serious accident, health and safety professionals will review the site to try to determine how the situation could be avoided in the future. For this reason, it is important that you don’t interfere with the site of the accident. People should be kept far from potentially hazardous equipment, but it should not be thrown away or otherwise destroyed.
#5: Implement learnings
After review, the health and safety professionals are like to make a number of recommendations. Ensure that any recommendations that improve the safety of the site are implemented as soon as possible.
Sadly, workplace injuries are a reality. However there are prevention techniques that minimise risk in every workplace. When injuries in the workplace do occur, guidelines should be followed so that those who are injured are treated promptly and safely, and the risk of further injuries is minimised.