What to Do If You Are Injured at Work

In recent years, Iowa has become one of the states with the highest injury rates for employees. For this reason, a Des Moines workers comp lawyer is not hard to come by. In fact, a Des Moines workers comp attorney is very good at getting employees the money they are entitled to after they have been injured while on the job. To make things easier, it is important for people to know what exactly they should do when they are seriously injured at work. Below, is a list of the steps that should be followed after a serious injury at the workplace:

1. Call an ambulance, assuming you are able. (If you are not able, it can be assumed that someone will call an ambulance for you). For example, if you break a bone while on the job, you should call 911 and get to a hospital as quickly as possible.

2. Assuming you are able, contact your boss or supervisor as soon as possible. You should tell them exactly what happened so they understand the situation. Again, if you are unconscious or otherwise unable to contact your boss, it can be assumed that a coworker or family member would do this for you.

3. Once you are released from the hospital, you should make sure you have appropriate paperwork from the hospital to be able to give to your boss or someone from human resources.

4. Before meeting with human resources about compensation, you should read over the company literature about injuries that occur during the job. If you feel it is necessary, you may want to consider hiring a representative from a law firm or private practice to come with you to your meeting with your human resources contact. You are entitled to have representation there if you feel the need to have someone with you during your meeting, although it is not required. Hiring representation depends on the type of injury and each individual company's policy on employee injuries.

5. Meet with the human resources contact. You should go into the meeting knowing whether or not your injury was caused by the negligence of the company rather than your own personal negligence. If you caused your injury, then you probably will not be entitled to any kind of compensation. For example, if company equipment breaks and you break your arm because of it, you will most likely be entitled to some money from the company. However, if you are using a tool inappropriately and you break your arm, then you will probably not receive any kind of compensation. You need to be able to answer any questions about the injury as honestly as possible.

It is important to remember that you are entitled to representation at your meeting with your human resources person and you should be knowledgeable about the company's policies. Hopefully, if you are ever injured on the job through the company's negligence you will be able to get the money that you are entitled to without much hassle.

Connor R. Sullivan recently reviewed the work of a Des Moines workers comp lawyer to review the effectiveness of their work. He hired a Des Moines workers comp attorney to provide legal assistance for a workman's compensation claim.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connor_R_Sullivan