My employee had an accident at work, what should I do?
An accident at work occurs when an employee suffers an injury during and through the performance of the employment contract due to an accident . However, these are not only accidents while employees are at work, but also accidents on the way to and from work. Employees working at home can also be victims of a work-related accident.
To qualify as an accident at work, the employee must prove that three conditions are met:
- A sudden event or accident, i.e. not an illness.
- A mental or physical injury, or damage to prosthetic or orthopaedic devices.
- During and through the performance of the employment contract. So there must be a causal link between the accident and work.
It is best to report the industrial accident as soon as possible, even if the employee is not (yet) affected. This way, each party avoids possible discussions afterwards.
As the employer, you must then report the accident to your accident insurer within eight days of the accident, together with an initial assessment certificate describing the employee's injuries. If you refuse to report the accident, the employee himself can contact Fedris, the Federal Agency for Occupational Risks, and he himself (or a close person) can report the accident to your work accident insurer.
The work accident insurer will then decide whether it is indeed an accident at work. As long as the work accident insurer has not made a decision, you as an employer will pay your employee guaranteed salary for the first 30 days. Afterwards, the employee's health insurance fund will assume the costs of the accident, which will recover them from the insurer. If the insurer then recognises the accident at work, it will pay the costs and any compensation for the employee's disability.
If the insurer believes that it is not a workplace accident, the employee can again contact Fedris, which will then investigate the insurer's decision.
Finally, if the employee does not agree with the outcome of that investigation, he can refer to the labour court.
Why is it best to consult a lawyer?
It is important to have all the correct data as soon as possible to make a statement. After all, you need to report the claim to the workplace accident insurer with correct. Your lawyer can assist you so that the administrative processing of the work accident so that it is not needlessly delayed or declared unfounded.
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