Tips for Avoiding Injuries and Using Workers Compensation in Denver
Your office can be a dangerous place to work. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways you can't avoid injuries in the workplace. Throughout this guide, you’ll get a chance to learn about injury prevention at work and how you can begin using workers compensation in Denver today. So, let’s dive in and discover the many ways you can prevent injuries to yourself and your coworkers.
How to Avoid Injuries in the Workplace
Avoiding injuries in the workplace is easier than you think. Although some accidents can seem unavoidable, from wearing the right clothes to asking a coworker for help, here ae a few ways you can begin avoiding injuries in the workplace today.
Wear Work Appropriate Clothing
An easy way to prevent injuries in the workplace is to wear work-appropriate clothing. However, what you wear usually depends on the role you play in the workplace. For example, if you work in a warehouse, you should wear durable shoes/boots, pants, and shirts that aren’t too loose. Before starting your position, your boss should have gone over appropriate clothing. You may have thought this is primarily for looks, but it’s also meant to keep you safe as well.
Keep Yourself Up-To-Date on Workplace Safety Habits
Another great way to avoid injuries in the workplace is to keep yourself up-to-date on workplace safety habits. Although most work sites have these displayed on signs to help employees remember the rules, you should personally keep yourself updated on ways to stay safer while on the clock. In most professions, workplace safety habits include wearing proper footwear, not being afraid to ask for help, being careful when using a ladder, and more.
Keep an Eye on Your Coworkers
While at work, you should make sure to keep an eye on your co-workers to ensure they’re also being safe. Also, in some circumstances, you might even be able to save them from a severe accident if you keep a close eye on their activities when they’re lifting a heavy object, climbing a ladder, using heavy machinery, etc.
Avoid Lifting More Than You Can
As the saying goes, lift with your back, but you should also avoid lifting more than you can — the last thing you want to deal with is a severe back injury that will put you out of work for a few weeks. Especially if the object you’re lifting has a warning for getting assistance for moving it, you should avoid transporting incredibly heavy items on your own. Your nine to five shift isn’t worth the strain and damage you can put on your body. Especially when there are easily avoidable solutions to getting help lifting an object that is too heavy for yourself to move.
How to Use Workers Compensation Following an Injury
Workers compensation is a great program that many workplaces offer in case of a work-related injury. However, not every worker really knows how to begin their claim and take advantage of the program. Here's how you can begin using workers compensation following an injury in the workplace.
Report Your Accident
To begin the process for using workers compensation after getting injured at work, you should make sure that you report the accident as soon as it happens. In most workplaces, you will have to fill out the necessary paperwork and hand it over to your superior. Fortunately, this process shouldn’t take long, so you can quickly begin your workers compensation claim and head down to your doctor’s office to recover from your injuries.
Set Up an Appointment with Your Doctor
After reporting your accident and beginning your claim for workers compensation, you should set up an appointment and visit your doctor. During this meeting, your primary care physician will be able to perform basic tests to determine an effective treatment plan, as well as take x-rays in case you have broken or fractured a bone. If you have extensive injuries, your doctor may also suggest you visit a local specialist or physical therapist to create a more effective treatment plan, depending on the current state of your injuries.
Record Your Medical Bills
While obtaining medical treatment for your work-related injuries, you should record all the bills you receive. Although this may seem like a lot of work to do on your part, it’s to ensure you’re properly reimbursed through your workers compensation in Denver. If you aren’t directly given physical bills at the hospital, you can ask for digital copies to be given to you, or ask your health insurance provider to send you copies to give to your work. However, without these records of medical bills, you won’t be able to be properly reimbursed by workers compensation.
Stay in Contact with Your Workplace
When you’re on medical leave, you should do your best to stay in contact with your workplace. Although this isn’t necessarily mandatory, it will make your recovery time go a little quicker by regularly contacting your coworkers and letting them know how you’re doing. Also, you should consider reaching out to your manager to let them know how well your recovery process is progressing. Before you know it, you’ll soon be able to be back on your feet and be ready to return to work.
Although work injuries aren’t completely unavoidable, there are plenty of ways you can prevent them from happening in the first place, from wearing appropriate clothing to avoiding lifting more than you think you can. If you do get injured at work, don’t assume you have no financial or personal support. To help you recover from your work-caused injuries as well as your lost wages due to being out of the office, workers compensation in Denver can help. However, it’s still a complicated process to actually use the program. If your workplace isn’t offering you enough help or allowing you to rightfully use workers compensation, call our office at Mark A. Simon, attorney at law, or give us a call to schedule a free consultation today!