What If Someone Gets Hurt at Your Business? How to Successfully Overcome the Unexpected
You might have the best measures in place to ensure your employees and customers are safe at your business. However, accidents are sometimes inevitable, and it is necessary to have a response protocol in place.
Aside from never wanting to see someone get hurt in your facility, it’s important from a business perspective to have your response plans in place so you do not panic and do the wrong thing in the moment. There are various financial and legal considerations, which can be challenging to keep the front of mind. Luckily, this guide looks at all these factors. Here’s what you need to do:
Check Your Liability Coverage
Remember that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In a business injury context, liability coverage helps you leverage the immense weight of this saying. Similar to how car insurance can protect you financially from the expenses associated with an automobile accident, a liability coverage policy will ensure you are safe from personal injury claims.
In many places, business owners are required to have general liability insurance. This type of insurance is designed to cover claims that the owner would otherwise be held liable for. Each general liability policy has different terms, so it’s important to understand what is covered vs. what isn’t. You will also need to understand how the claims process works with your insurer.
The insurance service may have specific terms relating to the injury, and monthly or annual premiums can be available. The compensation should also provide coverage for the welfare of your employees. You can call customer service for more insight.
What to Do If It’s Your Employee
Depending on the nature of your business, your employees may be regularly required to work in dangerous or hazardous environments. Although proper safety precautions can help prevent on-the-job injuries, it is still important to be aware of what to if someone gets hurt at work. The things you should do when such an issue occurs include:
Seek Immediate Medical Attention:
When someone who works for you gets hurt on the clock, the immediate priority is to make sure they receive adequate medical care as quickly as possible. Failing to do so can easily lead to further complications or claims on your end.
If it is a small injury, encourage the staff member to seek treatment at an urgent care center or get medical advice from their physician. You may also ask the injured party to use their medical insurance coverage to address the problem.
Report the Claim:
You are responsible for providing your employee with a workers’ compensation claim form and for reporting the incident to your insurance company. This should be done as soon as is reasonably possible after the event.
In most cases, the business owner or a representative of the business will need to prepare a claim form to help document the injury that occurred on the premises. Though the insurance company may send out a representative to investigate the incident, you can be proactive by getting input from witnesses or reviewing any available camera footage that may have captured the incident.
Complete an Employer’s Incident Report:
Depending on your industry and company policies, it might be necessary to file an incident report. Doing this helps provide your unique account of the events that happened before, during, and after the accident. Through this report, you will be accountable and identify all involved parties. An incident report is not used to determine fault, so it is important to only include facts — not opinions — in the report.
Prepare for Possible Lawsuits:
An injured employee might decide to file a lawsuit based on various factors. Although the insurance company may offer the injured party some compensation, the person could still pursue legal action. This is yet another reason it is so important to document the incident as thoroughly as possible. Always consult with your business insurance provider to understand how to properly deal with legal claims.
What to Do When It’s Your Customer
If your business is open to the public, it is possible for a customer to get injured on your property. It’s always a good idea to be aware of the best ways you can respond when accidents happen. The steps below should be helpful for such times:
Perform a Scene Analysis Process:
If an accident occurs at your business location, the first thing to do is a scene analysis. This does not have to be in-depth, but it will help immensely if you need to file an insurance claim. Various factors such as the weather or compromised building materials are common causes of physical harm. Be on the lookout for these factors, and document them if possible.
If an accident happens, you can take a notepad or have a smartphone device to perform an informal record of the scene. Ensure you restrict access to the property area, especially if it is likely to affect another individual. It is also important to take corrective action so that harm does not come to additional people.
Adhere to Company Protocol:
Ensure you have a method that you can implement when addressing injuries that occur within your property area. This could be an incident report or may even involve contacting law enforcement to complete a formal report. The process will also include obtaining information from the customer who was harmed. Ensure that you verify each statement that the injured individual provides.
Remember that some people might simply file a lawsuit instead of using physical harm coverage provided by your insurance company. You must prepare for such moments, especially as most cases often end on the customer’s side. If you have insurance coverage, call customer service for more insight on practical steps to take.
There is no way to plan for injuries or accidents that happen at your businesses, but you can prepare as much as possible. Always be careful in your approach to responding to the issue. Doing this will ensure you get the best possible outcome.
