How to Handle Work-Related Injuries

Employees must report all work-related injuries to their supervisor.  When a work-related injury occurs, take the following action:  1) call Medcor or 911 if the injury is life-threatening (supervisor or other designated person and employee place the Medcor call; the employee may initiate the call if no one is available), 2) supervisor reports the injury to Human Resources and their component contact (usually the Admin Coordinator), 3) supervisor completes required paperwork (Supervisor's Accident Report and Workers Compensation form).  More detailed instructions are outlined below:

Medcor

Each facility should display a Medcor flyer and a Work-Related Medical Treatment poster. Contact HR for Medcor materials.  You may download the Work-Related Medical Treatment poster by clicking on the link below.

The Medcor service provides:

1. Immediate access to a medical professional 24/7 via a toll-free number:  1.800.775.5866
2. Sound clinical decisions for first aid treatment and/or referral to an SCCCC pre-designated clinic
3. Consistent treatment decisions and documentation of injuries
4. Prompt reporting of injuries by fax or email 

The Medcor Injury Reporting Call Process:

For a life-threatening condition:  contact 911.   

For non-life threatening injuries:  Employee contacts supervisor to inform of work-related injury; supervisor or other designated person and employee place the Medcor call; the employee may initiate the call if no one is available.

1. Employee provides information about their injury to Medcor nurse and receives treatment recommendations; a referral to an off-site clinic may be given or the employee may request a referral; all information is confidential
2. Nurse speaks with supervisor to explain after-care instructions
3. Medcor sends an accident report to HR (if you receive this report, please forward to HR)
4. Follow-up:  a follow-up call may be made by Medcor 24-48 hours after the initial call; the employee should call Medcor if their condition worsens

Investigate

When an employee is injured or becomes ill while at work, the supervisor should thoroughly and promptly investigate what happened, both to help prevent future problems and to help HR decide within 90 days after a Workers Compensation claim is filed whether to reject liability for the injury or illness.  During the investigation, the supervisor should determine which conditions and/or actions caused the injury or illness, whether similar incidents have occurred before, and which equipment, procedures, and/or training changes could prevent future incidents.  Take all necessary steps to correct any conditions that caused the incident.  For example, replace equipment, change procedures, conduct training, etc.    

If Employee is Referred to SCCCC Designated Medical Provider

SCCCC's designated medical provider determines if the injury is considered first aid and provides after-care instructions listing work limitations and follow-up appointments, if any.  It is the responsibility of both the employee and the supervisor to ensure limitations, if any, are observed and appointments kept.  If an employee has previously designated in writing their choice of an alternate medical provider, he/she may use their pre-designated physician.

A doctor's report is required after each appointment for a work-related injury.  Make sure to observe work restrictions if any, noted on the form.  The supervisor works with the employee to modify their duties when possible, to comply with physical limitations noted by the medical provider (e.g., cannot lift more than 10 pounds).  Supervisor should make sure the employee attends follow-up doctor's appointments and complies with the doctor's recommended work restrictions.

If the doctor takes the employee off work, supervisor reports this immediately to HR.  This time off should be noted as a Workers Compensation absence in the comments section of the ezLabor timecard.

Supervisor's Accident Report

Complete the Supervisor's Accident Report and return to HR within 8 hours of the injury.

Workers Compensation Forms

[Workers Compensation is a "no-fault" system that protects employees injured on the job by guaranteeing them medical treatment and payment for lost wages while they are out of work due to a work-related injury or illness.  The employee does not have to prove the injury or illness was the employer's fault to receive benefits.  The trade-off is employees covered by Workers Compensation cannot sue employers for their work-related injuries or illnesses. Workers Compensation covers any injury that occurs while an employee is working, during breaks or lunch, or during work-related or required activities--such as calling on a client, attending a training session, or going to a conference or seminar.  Workers Compensation also usually applies even when the employee causes the injury.  There are some exceptions to this, however, such as when an employee is injured because of willful misconduct, fighting, or impairment related to drug or alcohol use.  A pre-existing condition doesn't disqualify an injured employee from obtaining benefits, but may in certain circumstances, reduce the employer's share of the compensation payment. In particular, under California Workers Compensation law, employers have to compensate injured workers only for the portion of permanent disability attributable to the current work-related injury and not for any portion caused by other injuries.  The process of weeding out prior or non-industrial causes of the disability is known as apportionment (this term is also used to describe the procedure for allocating liability for an injury among several employers).]

Each facility should have a Workers Compensation packet containing the forms needed to document an injury.  Contact HR if you need packets.

The supervisor provides the employee a Workers Compensation Claim Form (DWC1) & Notice of Potential Eligibility. This must be completed within one working day of finding out about an job-related injury or illness resulting in lost time beyond the date of the incident or requiring more than first aid. 

The employee completes the top portion of the form and receives the first two pages of the form (Notice of Potential Eligibility) and the last page of the NCR DWC 1 (check the "Temporary Receipt" box at the bottom of the form). 

The supervisor and/or component contact completes the "Employer" section of the form.  Once this section is completed, send one copy of the completed form to the employee (check the box at the bottom which says "Employee Copy."  Send the original copy ("Claims Administrator") to HR and retain the "Employer copy" in a separate file. 

Give all forms to your component contact who forwards them to HR.  If the employee misses any time from work due to the injury, notify the component contact immediately.  The component contact will notify HR and initiate medical leave, if the employee will be off work more than a few days. 

Communicate with the Employee

It is important for the supervisor to maintain regular contact with an injured or sick employee.  The supervisor's involvement can boost the employee's morale, encourage an employee to stick with a treatment program, and serve as a reminder that he/she is expected back at work as soon as the doctor allows.  Supervisor contact with the injured or ill employee demonstrates to other employees that the organization is concerned about the well-being of all its employees.