Report Construction Injuries for Workers’ Comp

Last Updat­ed on May 24, 2023 

In the con­struc­tion indus­try, injuries are a com­mon occur­rence. From falls to elec­tro­cu­tion, the risks are many, and the con­se­quences can be severe. That’s why it’s cru­cial to report any con­struc­tion injuries prompt­ly and accu­rate­ly. Doing so not only helps work­ers pro­tect their rights but also ensures that they receive the com­pen­sa­tion they need to recov­er and return to work.

The Importance of Reporting Construction Injuries for Workers’ Comp

Why Report Construction Injuries?

Here are some of the ben­e­fits of report­ing con­struc­tion injuries:

• Receive com­pen­sa­tion for med­ical expens­es and lost wages: Report­ing the injury as soon as pos­si­ble can help work­ers access the med­ical care and treat­ment they need to recov­er. It can also ensure that they receive com­pen­sa­tion for any missed workdays.
• Receive treat­ment for injuries and access reha­bil­i­ta­tion ser­vices: Work­ers’ comp can cov­er the cost of med­ical treat­ment, includ­ing reha­bil­i­ta­tion ser­vices, phys­i­cal ther­a­py, and oth­er nec­es­sary treat­ments to help work­ers recover.
• Pro­tect their jobs from being ter­mi­nat­ed due to injury: Report­ing the injury can help work­ers pro­tect their job secu­ri­ty. Employ­ers can­not ter­mi­nate a work­er for report­ing a work-relat­ed injury.
• Help pre­vent sim­i­lar acci­dents from hap­pen­ing in the future: Report­ing injuries helps employ­ers iden­ti­fy safe­ty haz­ards and take cor­rec­tive action to pre­vent sim­i­lar acci­dents from hap­pen­ing in the future.

How to Report Construction Injuries

Report­ing con­struc­tion injuries involves tak­ing the fol­low­ing steps:

1. Seek imme­di­ate med­ical atten­tion for any injuries: If you’ve been injured on the job, the first step is to seek med­ical atten­tion. Even if the injury seems minor, it’s essen­tial to get it checked out by a health­care professional.
2. Noti­fy your employ­er of the injury as soon as pos­si­ble: You must report the injury to your employ­er with­in a spe­cif­ic time frame, usu­al­ly with­in 30 days. Fail­ure to do so may result in a loss of benefits.
3. Com­plete any nec­es­sary forms or paper­work for work­ers’ comp: Your employ­er will pro­vide you with the nec­es­sary forms to file a work­ers’ comp claim. Make sure to fill them out com­plete­ly and accurately.
4. Fol­low up with your employ­er and insur­ance com­pa­ny to ensure that your claim is being processed in a time­ly man­ner: Keep in touch with your employ­er and insur­ance com­pa­ny to ensure that your claim is being processed promptly.

Common Construction Injuries

Here are some of the most com­mon con­struc­tion injuries:

• Falls from heights: Falls are a lead­ing cause of injury and death in the con­struc­tion industry.
• Elec­tro­cu­tion: Work­ers who come into con­tact with live elec­tri­cal wires or equip­ment can suf­fer elec­tro­cu­tion injuries.
• Struck-by injuries: Work­ers can suf­fer injuries from being hit by falling objects, swing­ing equip­ment, or vehi­cles on the con­struc­tion site.
• Caught-between injuries: Work­ers can suf­fer injuries when they are caught between two objects, such as heavy machin­ery or equipment.
• Repet­i­tive motion injuries: Work­ers can suf­fer injuries from doing the same motion repeat­ed­ly, such as using a jack­ham­mer or oth­er vibrat­ing tools.
• Hear­ing loss: Work­ers can suf­fer hear­ing loss from expo­sure to loud noise lev­els on the con­struc­tion site.
• Res­pi­ra­to­ry dis­eases: Work­ers can devel­op res­pi­ra­to­ry dis­eases from expo­sure to air­borne par­ti­cles, such as dust or asbestos.

Preventing Construction Injuries

Pre­vent­ing con­struc­tion injuries is cru­cial for main­tain­ing a safe work envi­ron­ment. Here are some ways to pre­vent con­struc­tion injuries:

• Fol­low all safe­ty guide­lines and reg­u­la­tions: Employ­ers must fol­low all safe­ty guide­lines and reg­u­la­tions to ensure that work­ers are pro­tect­ed on the job.
• Wear appro­pri­ate per­son­al pro­tec­tive equip­ment: Work­ers should wear appro­pri­ate per­son­al pro­tec­tive equip­ment, such as hard hats, safe­ty glass­es, and gloves, to pro­tect them­selves from injury.
• Prop­er­ly main­tain equip­ment and tools: Employ­ers must ensure that all equip­ment and tools are prop­er­ly main­tained to pre­vent accidents.
• Train work­ers on safe work prac­tices and pro­ce­dures: Employ­ers should pro­vide train­ing to work­ers on safe work prac­tices and pro­ce­dures to pre­vent accidents.
• Con­duct reg­u­lar safe­ty audits and inspec­tions: Employ­ers should con­duct reg­u­lar safe­ty audits and inspec­tions to iden­ti­fy poten­tial haz­ards and take cor­rec­tive action to pre­vent accidents.

Conclusion

Report­ing con­struc­tion injuries is a nec­es­sary step for pro­tect­ing work­ers’ rights and ensur­ing that they receive the com­pen­sa­tion and treat­ment they need to recov­er. By fol­low­ing the steps out­lined in this arti­cle, work­ers can pro­tect their job secu­ri­ty and help pre­vent sim­i­lar acci­dents from hap­pen­ing in the future.

Free Legal Advice for Injured Construction Workers

If you’ve been injured on the job, don’t hes­i­tate to seek legal advice to ensure that you receive the com­pen­sa­tion and ben­e­fits you’re enti­tled to under the law? Call us at 844–682‑0999 now.