The majority of workers at some point in a career sustain a minor injury at work. Sometimes it does not need to be treated and the worker prefers to deal with it privately at home. Or maybe the employee takes a few sick days to rest and then returns with no other issues.
Why Document Minor Injuries
No matter how minor the injury, it should always be documented. Adjusters receive countless workers comp claims, where a new claim is received in one month but the injury date is 6 to 8 months earlier. Why was this claim not reported back when the injury occurred? The answer from the employer is usually “Since the employee said it was not a major injury, and did not want to go to the clinic, I did not call a claim in at that time. No time was lost from work, so we did not think it was important .”
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True, it may not have been important at the time. But if the injury details are not documented, then the adjuster has too little information. The employee may report telling the supervisor after the injury happened. And maybe the supervisor failed to make the necessary injury report, so no supporting documents exists. In addition, the supervisor does not remember any details of the injury. However minor the incident, it is important to have floor supervisors and managers document every incident. And the decision to call or not call in the “incident-only” claim to the carrier can be left up to whoever is responsible for calling in claims.
Put A Copy in Personnel File
The important thing is to document everything and put a copy in the worker’s personnel file. Then when a worker comes back about this injury a year later, there is documentation to support that an incident did actually occur and someone in management was informed. This helps the adjuster legitimize the claim and continue on with an investigation. If an employer chooses not to document an injury, then no supporting documentation is available for defense of a potential law suit.
A workers comp claim may seem “bad” to some, but it’s not as bad as a liability suit against the owner. A minor injury can morph into a bigger issue at any time. It is better to be on the safe side by documenting every seemingly insignificant little thing, as there is no way of knowing when a little injury or issue may turn into a nightmare.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is the co-author of the #1 selling book on cost containment, Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%. Contact:.
Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Workers’ Comp Roundup Blog: https://blog.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/
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