Injured at Work?
Work injuries are very common and too often the injured employee doesn’t take the proper measures to make sure they are properly treated and covered. Small steps like filling out an incident report and informing the proper people, in a timely manner, are crucial too insuring that you will be covered by WSIB (WORKPLACE SAFETY &INSURANCE BOARD).
The first thing to do when injured is to make sure to seek proper treatment. Many employees ignore their injury, thinking it will go away after a few hours or a few days. Report all injuries to your manager and Occupation Health and fill in an incidents report. Documentation is very important therefore, the time of injury, witnesses and a detailed description of how, where and why the injury occurred are crucial. From the time of the injury, keep a detailed log of whom you met and all meeting you had associated with the incident.
Often injuries are cause by repetitive movement. The pain from such injuries comes gradually, which makes it harder to show a link between the injury and the workplace. Again proper documentation and an assessment of the work area are necessary to show a link between the injury and the workplace.
Some injury might necessitate time off work, in this event, it is important to know your coverage. Usually WSIB tries to keep the employee in the work place on modified schedule and duties. Prior to any return to work, the employee will meet with Occupation Health, the Manager, a WSIB Officer and the Union to make a plan. Plans will vary from one individual to another, depending on the nature of the injury and the employee’s ability to perform duties. Most plans are gradual plans, where the number of working hours increases every week. Every plan is on a trial bases so it can be modified if necessary. OPSEU should be invited to all Return to Work meetings to ensure proper representation for its members.
Taking the right approach to work injuries can save members time and money. In the end, it is your responsibility to ensure your safety and well being. Remember, when in doubt, contact the OPSEU office, we have the resources to help.