Workplace injuries can impact a worker’s health, career and income. Workplace injuries extend further than the obvious issues, though. When a primary earner is hurt, the ripples can reach the entire family, creating ongoing financial and emotional strain on every member.
While some industries are prone to accidents, people can get hurt anywhere. You could trip over a box and damage your ankle, requiring surgery and extensive rehabilitation. How negatively the recovery impacts your job depends on what you do for a living. If you or someone you love is suffering from occupational trauma, knowing where and how to get help can turn things around until you can get better or adapt to a new reality. It can be hard to know what to do if an injury occurs in the workplace.
Personal Impact of Workplace Injuries
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there are around 2.8 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses a year in the United States. However, when it happens to you and your family, the negative impact adds emotional stress that changes the entire family dynamic. With wages from one adult not coming in, the family may worry about how they’ll survive.
Taking care of someone who is physically immobile or needs more assistance than previously can become difficult, especially if the other adult in the home is working more hours to keep the family afloat.
The hurt person may be in physical pain or on medication that makes them shorter tempered than normal. They may not interact with their children as they have in the past, creating emotional stress for minors in the family on top of worries about their parent.
An often untreated side effect of healing from a workplace accident is suddenly being at home alone and losing the social connections you once had at your job. At first, some of your coworkers may stop by or phone. However, as time goes on, people tend to get busy with their daily tasks and forget about someone not in the office. Keeping connections with work friends can become a real struggle. For some, work is their main social outlet.
Resources to Help the Family Navigate the Injury
If you’ve suffered a traumatic event on the job, you likely already know about the side effects and stress of the results. Now, what can you do about it to improve your quality of life and get your family back to normal or a new normal?
1. Find Excellent Doctors
Before you can focus on mental or financial well-being, you must heal your body. If you’re in extreme pain or can’t function, it’s much harder to consider higher order needs, such as emotional connection. An excellent rehab doctor will treat physical and emotional injuries, developing a plan to give you the best quality of life possible.
Once you’ve had any surgeries, it’s time to look into regaining your strength. It’s crucial you have a customized plan to help you repair your body. Your job should still pay your insurance or give you access to COBRA. Utilize your plan to find the best doctors possible.
2. Seek a Resolution With Employer
Keep the lines of communication with your employer open. Many offer compensation, such as workers compensation through the state-mandated insurance many companies keep. Laws surrounding workman’s comp vary, so read your state statutes to ensure you understand how the system works.
Your employer may offer additional compensation, especially if they were negligent. It is best to hear what they have to say, depending on the severity of your injury. Make sure you only listen to their offers and don’t sign anything until you talk to a lawyer.
3. Consult an Attorney
Next, talk to an attorney who is well-versed in work injury claims and laws. You want someone who can negotiate with your company for a cash settlement. While you could take the case to court and likely be awarded funds if the business was negligent, the time you’ll have to wait could throw you into more of a financial strain. Knowing what to do if an injury occurs in the workplace requires insight you might not have yet.
It might be better to let an occupational injury lawyer negotiate on your behalf and settle for a payout that lets you pay your mortgage. A skilled attorney can also get your work to pay for things the insurance might not. For example, chiropractic therapy treats the whole person, relieving pain and improving conditions traditional medicine sometimes does not. However, insurance rarely covers the costs of visiting a chiropractor.
4. Find a New Career
One thing many people with traumatic injuries struggle with is maintaining a sense of self worth.
If your condition is so severe you can’t return to your job in the near future, you should look into training for something better suited to your current abilities. You’ll have a new way to make a living and you’ll regain your self-confidence as you tackle new challenges and succeed.
Many states offer job training programs for free or a low fee. To find out what programs are available where you live, contact the American Job Center toll free at 1-877-US-2JOBS. You can also check your state government website to see what workforce grants and programs are available.
5. Ask for Reasonable Accommodation at Work
Another option for what to do if an injury occurs in the workplace is to talk to your employer about a different position you can fill at work when you’re able. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires companies to provide reasonable accommodations for handicaps.
What skills have you retained that you could apply to a different role? If you’ve worked at a place for a while, you likely know what needs they have or how you could adapt your work to still provide value to the company while protecting your physical well-being.
6. Attend Family Therapy
Traumatic injuries that change your life can have a negative impact on personal relationships, particularly those closest to you like your spouse, children and parents. Figuring out how to navigate the changes is challenging on your own. Seek out some family therapy to help everyone deal with their emotions and learn better skills to cope and communicate.
Since you’re likely on a tight budget, if your insurance doesn’t cover therapy sessions, you should look for resources such as free or inexpensive group therapy through community groups or local churches and other religious organizations.
Since feelings of isolation can creep in, the person with the injury should also join a support group with others going through similar circumstances. If you received a traumatic brain injury (TBI), seek a group with others in the same boat. They may have been harmed while driving or doing something other than work, but they’ll still relate to many of your struggles and give you a place of acceptance and friendship. You won’t feel alone.
Take One Step Forward at a Time
If your injuries are severe, you may wonder how you’ll ever overcome what you’re dealing with. Although the accident likely happened in a split second, it will take time to overcome the shockwaves from the event.
Focus on getting your body and mind well and surviving financially until you can move toward training for a new career or finding a different role within your company. By working through each issue you might be facing, you’ll make slow progress over time and be able to rebuild a life filled with pride and satisfaction.
