As a business owner, you’ve got a lot of different issues and dilemmas that you have to deal with on a daily basis. And while most of these problems likely revolve around the functionality of your business or whatever products or services you render, you may have a time where the most pressing issues you have to deal with is a workers’ compensation claim from one of your employees. So to help ensure that this claim doesn’t derail your business or cause you to have major financial problems in the future, here are three tips that should help you deal with workers’ compensation claims for your business.

Encourage Your Employees To File When Necessary

Although you might not want to think about any of your employees getting hurt while on the job or there being an accident on your property that injures a member of your staff, this is a reality that you have to come to terms with. So while this isn’t something you should hope for, Suzanne Lucas, a contributor to The Benefits Guide, shares that if any of your employees do get hurt while on the job, you should always encourage them to file with workers’ compensation. By doing this, you’ll ensure that all the necessary paperwork is taken care of and that documentation has been made regarding the injury. Also, you’ll be able to have your own bases covered by reporting any and all injuries and by protecting your business from any future lawsuits regarding injuries that weren’t filed for workers’ compensation as they should have been.

Conduct Investigations Of All Claims

Once an injury has taken place, Sean McKelley, a contributor to Smart Business, advises that you always have an investigation done on the claims of your employee. If at all possible, try to get any security footage that shows when the injury took place and what happened both before and after the incident. Also, if there were other people there who say what happened, get their written statements as well. Regardless of who got injured or what happened, make it a company policy to always investigate so that you can uncover the facts of the case.

Create A Plan For The Injured Employee To Return To Work

After any immediate medical needs are taken care of and your employee is healing, Riya of the HR-Gazette.com, recommends that you speak with the employee about creating a plan for them to return to work. By doing this, you show to both your employee and any lawyers involved that you want this employee to come back and are willing to work with their physical limitations or capabilities in order to help them continue working and supporting themselves.

To help you better manage any workers’ compensation claims that come against your business, consider using the tips mentioned above to learn how to act in these situations.