What You Should Know If You Suffer an Injury While at Work

Almost 3 million people experience nonfatal accidents or injuries at work each year in private industry in the United States. If you become one of them tomorrow, would you know what to do?

Common workplace injuries include slips, trips, falls, crush injuries, sprains, fractures, and repetitive strain injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome.

When you’re injured at work, your next steps may be different from what you would do at home. Our team at Full Orthopedics Urgent Care in North Miami Beach, Florida, specializes in diagnosing and treating workplace injuries, as well as dealing with workers’ compensation. Here are a few steps you should follow if you’re injured at work.

Inform your supervisor

If your injury is serious or life-threatening, the first thing you should do after your injury is seek medical attention. If your injury is less serious, let your supervisor know before you get treated. This will keep them in the loop on your situation and allow them to start the workers’ compensation process so your medical care will be covered.

If you do end up getting treatment before telling your supervisor, make sure to send a text, email, or letter as soon as you can to help establish a paper trail and avoid any uncertainty later.

Get treated

You should seek medical treatment as soon as possible after any workplace injury, even if you think it’s a minor problem. It is important to establish the facts of the situation so you can be assured of receiving your workers’ compensation for your treatment. 

It’s helpful to visit a clinic or office where the doctors and team are knowledgeable about workplace injuries and understand the workers' comp process.

You need to get an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment so you can recover as quickly and completely as possible. We want to get you back to full health while minimizing lost work time.

Here at Full Orthopedics Urgent Care, we specialize in treating back and neck injuries, as well as problems with your feet, ankles, knees, hips, hands, wrists, shoulders, and elbows. 

We start with conservative treatment based on when your injury occurred. As the situation progresses, you may need physical therapy, injection therapy, and vitamins and supplements.

File your claim

Once you’ve gotten the medical care you require, you’ll need to file a claim to make sure your care expenses are covered and your company also considers lost wages from any work time you may miss as you recover.

Our team is fully up-to-date on all the Florida rules and regulations for workers' comp, so we’ll be able to guide you in the right direction. You’ll have to file your claim through your workplace, but we’ll make sure you have all the information you need to support your claim.

We can also communicate directly with your employer if necessary. The goal of this entire process is to get you back to work as soon as possible, but as your medical providers, we’re responsible for ensuring you’re physically able to handle the return to work. 

If you’re ever injured at work and you’re not sure what to do next, our team at Full Orthopedics Urgent Care will guide you. Walk-in patients are welcome, but if you have time, you can call ahead to our office at 305-343-1365 so we can prepare for your arrival!