Is this employee eligible for workers' compensation? When to submit a workers' comp claims.
Scenario:
One of my employees was injured at work and they are in the hospital. Their manager dared them to do a cartwheel in the supply room. Mid-cartwheel, the employee kicked a shelf full of supplies to the floor, slipped on a highlighter when they landed, and fractured their wrist and sprained their knee. Is this employee eligible for workers' compensation?
Answer:
It’s difficult to say if the employee will be eligible for worker’s compensation benefits because that determination is made by the worker’s compensation carrier.
The best way to handle a situation like this is to:
gather the details from the employee about the incident,
complete the first report of injury
submit the claim to the workers' compensation carrier
Additionally: You can also complete an injury investigation to determine if any safety rules were violated and if they were, go through the corrective action process with the employee and their manager.
Providing regular safety training to employees and discouraging activities like cartwheels in the work environment can help with mitigating injuries in the workplace.