If one employee takes a break from work due to an injury or an illness, their absence may not be a big setback. But if you are the employer, an injury or illness can seriously hurt your business, especially when you are a startup and have most of your business management depending on you.
But getting into an injury or being unwell should not be the end of your business. Knowing what to do after an accident or illness can help keep your business alive as you recover.
1. Get Medical Attention
Even if you don’t feel too bad after an accident, your priority should always be seeking medical help. Getting medical attention helps improve recovery time which could mean resuming your work sooner.
Also, the doctor will let you know the activities you can or cannot do, so following the doctor’s instructions is essential. Besides helping you recover faster, adherence to the doctor’s recommendation can also help you avoid gaps in your treatment, which can compromise the value of your claim if you decide to pursue compensation.
2. Delegate Your Leadership Roles
In business, it is important to be prepared for any eventuality, including situations where you could be forced to stay due to an injury or illness.
The best way to plan for such eventualities is to groom someone else for leadership roles so they can jump right in and take over when you are away. Go for someone you can trust, like a loyal employee or partner.
Having someone to delegate your roles to can help ensure that there are very few interruptions to your business when you are away.
3. Contact a Lawyer to Help You Seek Compensation
If the injuries keeping you from your business are caused by another person, you may be eligible for compensation. However, you must file an injury claim against the at-fault’s lawyer. The claims process can be time-consuming and complex, especially if your injuries are severe.
Pursuing a claim on your own could mean losing out on your deserved compensation. You could also spend many hours that you could use to recover the gains lost through your absence from your business.
The best thing to do is to contact a reputable personal injury law firm, such as Jacoby & Meyers LLP, for help handling the claims process on your behalf.
4. Communicate With Your Clients
If you are running a small business that does not have employees or a partner, delegating may not be an option. Your only option is to put the business on hold to focus on recovery. The problem with putting the business on hold is that existing and new customers may look elsewhere when they can’t reach you.
While you may not keep them from looking elsewhere at the moment, you could do something to ensure that they will return when you get back on your feet; staying in communication with your customers.
Let them know what’s going on and keep them updated on your status. Most customers will understand and may choose to wait or will return when you communicate your return to business.
5. Determine What You Can Do
What you can or cannot do after an injury depends on your doctor’s recommendation. For instance, if you suffer a fractured leg, the doctor may recommend being on bed rest for a couple of weeks.
While it would not be a great idea to go to work under such circumstances, nothing can keep you from taking and making phone calls and arranging for clients’ order fulfillment.
No matter what injury or illness keeps you from working at full capacity, there could be something you could do to help ensure that your business runs almost at its optimum even when you are injured.
