Workplace injury: what should an employee and employer do?

Industrial injury is a common occurrence in our lives. Some receive it because of their own negligence, others - through the fault of the employer. In any case, both the employee and the employer should know what to do in this situation. This article provides step-by-step instructions for work-related injuries for both parties. Timely and correct actions will help to avoid conflicts, misunderstandings and possible legal proceedings in the future.

Legal basis of industrial injuries

Currently, in the Russian Federation, occupational injuries are regulated by the following legislative acts:

1. The Constitution of the Russian Federation, guaranteeing every person the right to work in safe and hygienic conditions.
2. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for the procedure for action in case of an industrial injury and its execution.
3. Decree of the Ministry of Labor of Russia No. 73 dated October 24, 2002, regulating the specifics of considering injuries at work and drawing up acts.
4. Federal Law No. 225 of December 29, 2006, regulating the issues of compulsory insurance of citizens in case of temporary disability.
5. By order of the Ministry of Health of Russia No. 160 dated February 24, 2005, approving the list of injuries in which the injury is classified as severe.

What it is?

Workplace injury is an accident resulting in physical and moral harm to an employee. The consequence of this may be temporary or permanent disability, the need to move to another position, disability and even death.

In order for the injury received at the workplace to be recognized as industrial, it is necessary to precisely establish the place of its receipt. To recognize a work-related injury, it must meet one or more of the following conditions:

• obtained on the territory of the employer in the performance of the employee's labor functions;
• occurred during working hours, which also includes a break for lunch and rest;
• received not in the territory of the employer, but in the performance of tasks and instructions of the employer;
• occurred on the way to work (on a business trip) or back on the employer's transport or on a personal car, the use of which is reflected in the documents of the organization.

If an employee was injured on the way to work in personal transport and his use as an official one is not recorded in any working documents, such an injury will be legally recognized as a household one.

At the same time, the actions of the employee must be lawful, and he should not be intoxicated, whether alcoholic, toxic or narcotic.

Types of work-related injuries

According to Article 227 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, cases of injuries at work include events that resulted in the following to the injured worker (s):

• bruises, cuts, fractures and other injuries of any parts of the body, including injuries caused to the employee by another person;
• burns;
• heat or sunstroke;
• drowning;
• frostbite;
• radiation, lightning, or electric shock;
• bites and other bodily injuries caused by insects or animals;
• damage due to the destruction of structures, structures and buildings, explosions, accidents, natural disasters, earthquakes and other emergencies.

This list is not exhaustive. Other injuries sustained as a result of external factors can be attributed to industrial injuries at the workplace, in connection with which the employee has a temporary or permanent disability or death.

An injury received at the workplace will not be industrial if:

• an injury was received by an employee when he committed actions (inaction) that are qualified by law enforcement agencies as a crime;
• injury or death occurred in connection with drug, alcohol or other toxic intoxication or poisoning of the employee, if this injury is not associated with a technological process in which any technical alcohol, narcotic, aromatic and other toxic substances are used;
• death occurred due to a general disease;
• death occurred as a result of suicide.

All the above facts must be confirmed in the manner prescribed by law by a medical organization, bodies of inquiry and investigation or the court. Like work-related injuries at work, any of the above incidents are investigated by a special commission.

Occupational Injury Classification

According to the degree of harm caused, industrial injuries are divided into 3 types:

1. Mild - damage that does not require medical attention and does not entail serious malfunctions in the body (for example, scratches, abrasions, bruises, etc.). In this case, you can limit yourself to outpatient treatment.
2. The average degree is damage requiring medical attention and inpatient treatment with the opening of a sick leave due to injuries at work for a period of ten to thirty days (for example, sprains, broken limbs, frostbite, burns, etc.).
3. Severe - damage that entails serious (sometimes even irreversible) malfunctions of the body and disability, up to disability, for a period of more than thirty days (for example, craniocerebral injuries, serious fractures, heavy blood loss, mental disorders, severe burns, etc. d.). In addition, a separate type of occupational injury, such as an occupational disease, that is, a violation of the normal functioning of the body resulting from prolonged exposure to any harmful factors, as a result of which the employer is forced to suspend the employee from performing his duties for a certain time or forever, is separately distinguished .

The first actions of the employer

Step-by-step instructions for an industrial injury at work include the following:

1. Call a physician to assist an injured worker. If necessary, arrange for the delivery of the employee to the nearest medical facility.
2. Take the necessary actions to prevent the development of an emergency.
3. To fence off the scene in order to keep it unchanged. Exceptions are cases where inaction can lead to the further development of an emergency.
4. Fix the scene of the incident on the photo and videotape it (if necessary).
5. Notify the next of kin of the victim about the incident, as well as report it to the union and the insurance company. If there are several victims, the State Labor Inspectorate, the prosecutor's office, the Association of Trade Unions and the executive authority of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation are added to this list.

Having completed the basic necessary actions, the employer needs to investigate what happened. To do this, create a commission of three people. According to Art. 229 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, this commission should include a labor protection engineer or another person who performs these duties; employer representative and employee representative (union representative).

Based on the outcome of the investigation, the commission must draw up an act in the prescribed form (Form H-1), which reflects all the necessary information, namely:

1. The circumstances and causes of what happened are established.
2. A person is identified who has committed a violation of safety and labor protection requirements.
3. The degree of connection of an employee’s injury with his production activities is determined.
4. A recommendation is given to eliminate the causes and prevent the emergence of new ones.
5. The accident that has occurred is qualified (whether the injury is industrial or not).
6. It is established what is the degree of guilt of the injured worker as a percentage if it is established that the injury was received through his negligence.
7. Case investigation materials are being drawn up.

Accident Investigation Timeline

The investigation of the incident, as a result of which the health of the employee (or workers) was slightly injured, is carried out by a specially created commission for this within three days, regardless of the number of victims. If as a result of an injury the health was seriously injured or there was a fatal outcome, the investigation period is extended to fifteen days. If the employer was not informed in a timely manner about an industrial injury or the disability of the injured worker did not immediately occur, the investigation is carried out only at the request of the victim or his representative within one month. The deadlines can be extended for another fifteen days if it is necessary to conduct an additional check or obtain appropriate medical or any other conclusions.

If it is not possible to complete the investigation of the incident within any of the established deadlines in connection with finding the verification materials either in the expert organization, or in the investigation or inquiry bodies, or in court, the employer will agree with the indicated authorities on the decision to extend the investigation deadlines.

Industrial injury. What should an employee do?

The main thing that every employee needs to know is that upon receipt of an industrial injury it is strictly forbidden to leave the territory of the employer. Otherwise, the resulting injury can be recognized as domestic, and the employee this work day is counted as truancy. Therefore, if an employee is injured at the workplace, he needs to do the following:

1. Call a nurse of the organization or an ambulance doctor in order to provide assistance, as well as officially record the receipt of an industrial injury.
2. Notify the employer of the injury.
3. To avoid problems, a notification must be in writing. In no case can you agree to the offer of the employer to go home without recording the injuries received. Firstly, it will be problematic to achieve recognition of an industrial injury in the future. Secondly, the employer can arrange the absence of an employee in the workplace as absenteeism.
4. At the end of the accident check, get an act of injury.
   
5. Get sick leave in case of injury at work. When you got it in your hands, you need to make sure that the code “04” is indicated in the “reason for incapacity for work” column. This means that the worker was specifically injured. But even the implementation of all these actions does not guarantee that you will not have to apply for the protection of your interests to the labor inspectorate or to the court.

How is work injury paid?

An employee having an accident at the workplace? Payment for workplace injuries includes the following:

1. Payment of the employee’s temporary disability period in the amount of 100% of his average sick leave earnings.
2. One-time insurance payments.
3. Monthly insurance payments.
4. Compensation for medical and social expenses, as well as expenses for vocational rehabilitation.
5. Compensation for non-pecuniary damage. Often, an employee can pay such compensation only through a court.

In the event that the injury led to death, the relatives of the deceased worker are entitled to pay benefits for the loss of the breadwinner.

Sick pay for injuries at work, insurance and compensation payments are made by the Social Insurance Fund (abbreviated FSS), the rest - by the employer. In addition, an employment contract, a collective agreement or other local acts of the organization may provide for additional compensation payments to the injured employee.

If employee negligence contributed to injuries at work, payments are directly proportional to the established fault reduced.

If the employee’s injury is recognized as not related to production, he will be paid only sick leave.

The procedure for processing documents upon receipt of an industrial injury

To receive all due payments to the employee, it is necessary to collect a list of documents, which includes:

• application for receipt of payments;
• an act of investigation of an accident with an employee;
• expert opinion;
• copy of the employment contract;
• copy of the work book;
• income statement for the period specified by the insurance company;
• sick leave for an industrial injury;
• disability certificate (if necessary).

In case of death, a death certificate must be submitted; medical report on its causes; documents confirming burial expenses; a certificate of wages of the deceased employee and a certificate of his dependents.

Actions and responsibility of the employer in case of work-related injury

Often a situation arises when, as a result of an injury, an employee must be given a different position or other working conditions due to medical indications. If the employee refuses the transfer, the Labor Code provides for two options for the employer:

• If an employee needs to be transferred to another position for a period of not more than four months, the employer is obliged to remove him from performing labor functions, while retaining his place of work. As a general rule, wages in this case are not charged, but other conditions may be fixed by local acts of the organization.
• If the employee must be transferred to another position for a period of more than four months or on an ongoing basis, the employer has the right to dismiss him in accordance with paragraph 8 of Art. 77 due to the refusal to transfer to another position suitable for medical reasons, or due to the lack of such an employer. If an accident occurred in the organization, but the employer at the same time complied with all labor protection measures, then he would not bear responsibility not provided for by standard payments. But if he concealed a work injury or they did not comply with labor protection conditions, he will be held responsible.

The most common violations among employers in identifying the fact of an employee receiving an industrial injury are:

• concealment of information that one or more employees of the organization received industrial injuries;
• improperly investigating a workplace accident;
• attempts to recognize the received injury as not industrial but domestic;
• underestimation of the amount of compensation due to the employee;
• denial of payment of due compensation.

According to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the fine for one violation may reach one hundred fifty thousand rubles. In case of several violations, the amount will accordingly increase in direct proportion. According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, violation of the necessary labor protection requirements threatens the employer with a fine, the maximum amount of which is four hundred thousand rubles, and other sanctions can also be applied to him. If an employee dies as a result of an injury, the employer faces imprisonment of up to four years.

No one is safe from industrial injuries at the workplace. Therefore, the employee should remember that protecting his interests is the responsibility of himself. Most employers are not interested in either investigating the accidents that have occurred, or in paying various kinds of compensation for them. Therefore, everything related to work-related injuries should be documented. In addition, it is imperative to bring witnesses. Employers, however, need to remember that instructing workers on safety is an integral part of the work process. Careful monitoring of its passage by all employees will significantly reduce injuries in the workplace, as well as protect the employer from paying fines.