Some get injured due to their own negligence, others – through the fault of the employer. In any case, both the employee and the employer must know what to do in this situation. This article provides step-by-step guidance on work-related injuries for both parties. Timely and correct actions will help to avoid conflicts, misunderstandings, and possible litigation in the future.
The main causes of industrial injuries
Accurate performance of work duties and adherence to safety measures helps to reduce injuries at work. They can be conditionally divided into technical, organisational, and personal. The main cause of accidents is negligence in the workplace. In addition, the reasons may be non-observance of the rules of conduct, violation of the technological process, both through the fault of the employee himself and his management.
What is it?
An injury at work is an accident as a result of which an employee suffers physical as well as moral harm. The consequence of this may be a temporary or permanent disability, the need to move to another position, disability, and even death.
In order for an injury received at the workplace to be recognised as a work injury, it is necessary to accurately establish the place of its occurrence. To be recognised as a work injury, it must meet one or more of the following conditions:
-received on the territory of the employer during the performance of the employee’s labour functions;
-occurred during working hours, which also includes lunch and rest breaks;
-received not on the territory of the employer, but during the execution of tasks and instructions of the employer;
-occurred on the way to work (on a business trip) or back on the employer’s transport or in a personal car, the use of which is reflected in the organisation’s documents.
If an employee was injured on the way to work on a personal vehicle and its use as a service vehicle is not recorded in any working documents, such an injury will be recognised by law as a household one.
Types and severity of injuries
An occupational injury is divided into two types, which, in turn, differ in the degree of injury suffered by a person and the consequences of them. This can be the emergence or exacerbation of diseases of a chronic and occupational nature, long-term disability. The severity of work-related injuries also matters. As the main types, there are severe and light injuries.
So, severe injuries at work are injuries that pose a threat to human health and life. These include:
-painful shock;
-loss of more than 20% of blood;
-coma;
-violation of the activity of important organs;
-bone fracture with complication; dislocated joints;
-spinal injury;
-brain damage;
-mental disorders;
-damage to blood vessels and arteries;
-miscarriage and others.
Mild occupational injuries include:
-common bone fracture;
-crick;
-concussion and others.
Work-related injuries are diagnosed at the medical facility where the injured employee is treated. The conclusion is issued at the request of the employer. Depending on the type of injury, injuries are divided into:
-technical;
-temperature;
-electrical;
-chemical.
What to do (for an employee who is injured at work)
First of all, each employee must remember that in the event of an industrial injury, in no case leave the production on their own, since in this case there is a high probability that the injury will be recognised as a household one, and the employee will be absent for that day.
The algorithm of action is as follows:
The employee must call the nurse on duty, who will assess the degree of injury and, if necessary, call a doctor.
Obtaining a certificate of injury at work (issued by the commission based on the results of the inspection).
Sick leave registration.
Don’t forget to consult with your lawyer. Kells Lawyers can help you out with all the questions and problems around this topic.
Work injury payments
Recall that an employee has the right to receive social benefits in the event of temporary disability (including injury) in any case.
In case of damage to health, the employee must be reimbursed for the lost earnings due to an occupational injury and the costs of medical, social, and vocational rehabilitation.
The employee is paid lump-sum and monthly insurance payments, the amount of which depends on the degree of loss of professional ability to work. It is determined by the institution of medical and social expertise.
In addition to mandatory payments, the company has the right to provide for other compensations or payments in a larger volume. Such guarantees can be secured by an industry tariff agreement. If the organisation has signed this agreement, then it is obliged to pay employees increased security.
Moral harm and statute of limitations
The employer must compensate the employee for moral damage. Its value can be determined by the agreement of the parties. If the employee does not agree with the amount of compensation offered by the employer, then it will be determined by the court depending on the guilt of the employer and the degree of physical and mental suffering of the employee.
Conclusion
It is important to observe safety precautions during work. After all, an attentive attitude to this issue of each person will help to forget about such issues as what an injury at work is, what an employee should do and which authorities to contact. And most importantly, it will save the life and health of employees.
