Try as you might to be careful, accidents do happen in the workplace. About 3 million Americans are injured on the job each year. If you do happen to get an injury or illness on the job, you might be asking yourself what you should do.
Our team at MidJersey Orthopaedics has experience dealing with work-related accidents. We can diagnose and treat your injury or illness. Here’s what you need to know.
There’s a wide range of common workplace injuries like falls, muscle strains, fractures, or repeated stress injuries. The National Safety Council reports that someone is injured on the job every seven seconds. There are a few steps to take if you find yourself with a workplace injury.
The first thing you should do, as long as you’re conscious, is to practice effective first aid. You may need to clean and bandage a wound, immobilize an injured limb, or apply an ice pack to a sprain. However, if you aren’t able to properly handle the injury yourself, make sure and get yourself to the nearest emergency room.
Next, you need to inform your supervisor. In most states, you’re entitled to workers’ compensation if you’re injured while on the job or because of your normal work tasks. Under the law, employers have to have liability and workers’ compensation insurance. They also have to provide benefits to their employees who get hurt at the workplace.
Broken bones, lacerations, and other serious injuries will obviously need immediate medical attention. But even if your injury seems minor, it’s best to go and get it checked out. There’s many conditions that have delayed symptoms or no symptoms at all, like head injuries.
Our providers at MidJersey Orthopaedics can diagnose, treat, and monitor your condition. We can provide validating proof of any medical needs relating to your accident to help your workers’ compensation claim.
Your evaluation includes a physical exam and a discussion of your symptoms and medical history, as well as imaging tests like X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. Following your evaluation, your provider will develop the most effective treatment plan for you. Your plan may include:
In some cases, you may require surgery. Our team understands that everyone is unique, and we’re ready to curate a plan to fit whatever is best for you.
It’s important to report your injury to your employer within 30 days from the date you got hurt or from the date you knew your illness or injury was related to your job. If you don’t let your employer know in that time frame, you may not get benefits.
If you’ve been injured on the job and need to get evaluated and treated, MidJersey Orthopaedics can help you through the workers’ comp process.
You can call us at any of our New Jersey offices or request an appointment online today to set up a consultation.
