When an employee claims they were hurt on the job, employers need to handle these situations properly. It’s important to protect the rights of the employee, but you also have to protect the interests of the business. This isn’t always easy.
You can’t go into every claim thinking that an employee is trying to get something over on you, but you shouldn’t assume that you don’t need to be cautious. False injury claims do happen.
To minimize problems, your team should understand what workers’ compensation benefits are for and when they apply. They should also know how to report accidents to you. Once the accident is reported, an official report must be written out. An incident report must be filed with the workers’ compensation carrier. This is done according to your insurance carrier’s instructions.
The employee will have to obtain medical care. Once this is done, you may be able to put together a plan for the employee to return to work. Remember that there are several laws to consider during this process, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, so evaluate the options prior to doing the planning. You should follow the doctor’s directions for the return, and this might include having to place the employee on a light-duty restriction.
All workers’ compensation cases should be handled carefully. These are complex matters because of the number of compliance issues involved, but you shouldn’t ever allow an employee to benefit from a fraudulent claim. Your attorney can help you to ensure that you’re defending your company as necessary in these cases.