Accidents happen in the workplace on a daily basis, no matter how hard your company tries to keep the job site safe. There is no job that is immune from possible injury, and that’s why companies are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Any employee who is injured on the job is eligible to file a workers’ comp claim. Roughly 26% of workers’ comp claims involve being hit by equipment or falling objects. Whether it’s a box falling from a shelf or a collision with a forklift, injuries can happen in the workplace and you need to understand the steps to take in order to file a successful workers’ compensation claim. Common Injuries That Occur Because of Being Hit By Equipment If you get hit in the head by a piece of falling equipment or debris, you could suffer a concussion and concussions have long-lasting side effects. A rolling cart could hit you, or a box could fall from a shelf and land on your foot. What To Do If You Have Been Hurt By A Falling Object The first step if you have been injured on the job is to report the accident to your supervisor or to human resources. If you do not report the injury, you cannot file a workers’ comp claim. Make sure you also see your doctor, even if you don’t think that the accident was a big deal or if you don’t think you were injured badly. The reality is that you never know how badly you were injured or what kind of impact the injury will have on your ability to work, so having medical documentation will help you to build a strong claim. In addition to medical documentation, talk to any witnesses who might have observed the accident. Get their statements together so that they can corroborate your claim. You should also take photos of where the accident took place, making sure to document the entire area so that it’s possible to see how the accident happened. For example, if there are tall shelves with boxes stacked high, then this shows how and why a box may have fallen. If there is security footage of the accident, get a copy of that, too. Remember, the more evidence you gather, the stronger your case will be. Get A Free Case Evaluation Today It is very important that you act quickly with a workers’ comp claim because each state has its own time frame in which a claim must be filed. That means you need to have your documentation available, too. This can be a very stressful process, especially if you are still recovering from your injury. You might consider working with a workers' comp attorney who can help you gather evidence, work with insurance companies or your company’s human resources department, and they can also help file the claim and make sure you have completed everything properly. Working with a workers’ comp attorney means that you have an experienced advocate helping you, and while this does not guarantee that you will win your claim, it greatly increases your chances of success. And since many workers’ comp attorneys will work on a contingency basis, there are often no fees required upfront and you only pay if you win your case. For more information about how a workers’ comp attorney might be able to help you with your claim, fill out a free case evaluation. Additional Resources Broken Leg and Workers' Compensation Free Case Evaluation
