A long time ago I was a certified nursing assistant in a geriatric facility. In the midst of moving a laundry cart, I collided with a food cart and hurt my ankle. It really hurt and since I spent my entire shift on my feet, I was even more concerned. I insisted that I have my ankle checked out immediately. My supervisor sent me to the emergency room for an evaluation.
My ankle was fine. Yeah! Yet, I was glad that I took the steps to get it checked out. What if there was something wrong with my ankle? What if I spent the rest of my shift hobbling around only to make it worse? What if making it worse meant that I injured my ankle so badly that I had to “stay off of it” and I could not work?
An injury can easily become a huge problem. Hence it is really important that you have short term disability insurance where you work and you need to document injuries when they occur at work. Short term disability insurance will give you either your full salary for a select number of weeks according to your plan or part of your salary for a predetermined number of weeks according to your plan. Having this financial cushion will enable you to take care of your injury and not feel compelled to return to work because you “need” the money. You do not want to put your body at risk because you cannot forgo a pay check temporarily.
It is a wise idea to document your injury as well. You want to document the exact time and date it occurred. You want to make notes of anyone who saw the incident. You want to record how your supervisor handled the situation. You want a copy of the doctor’s report as well. In the event that your work injury is so debilitating that you are no longer able to work, you might need to consider www.personalinjurylawyers.com to determine if your injury is the result of some sort of negligence on the part of the company.
No one wants to work with a personal injury lawyer. However, if you are unable to work on account of negligence, hiring a lawyer will help ensure that your rights are protected. Moreover, hiring a lawyer might help change policies and procedures at your company which might protect future employees from injury.
Have you ever been injured at work?
