In the world of business, there are tons of times it is necessary to have your employees travel for the benefit of the company. Whether you run a company responsible for deliveries of some sort or you have executives needing to commute to close deals with allies, you will incur the wrath of the law if certain precautions are not taken.
You will also suffer the consequences of bad insurance practices if you refuse to educate your workers. With that in mind, should your employees find themselves in a car accident while on the job, teach them to follow the three suggestions below.
Call 911
If you are involved in a car accident while on the clock, the absolute first thing you should do is to call 911. By doing so, you alert the proper authorities to the fact that you and possibly another vehicle have been in a crash. This means they are able to send an ambulance to attend to any and all injuries you or other parties have suffered.
It also alerts the local police to the need for possible traffic control and the need to document the accident. In the unfortunate event that the crash is bad enough to warrant the jaws of life or creates a more dangerous situation, the police will also have the authority to call in extra help.
Check For Injuries and Prevent Any Further Ones If Possible
After you have contacted 911 and are sure the proper authorities are on their way, check yourself and any other participants in the car accident for injuries. Serious injuries should receive immediate attention. Here, is a good opportunity to introduce first aid training to your employees.
They should know how to stop the bleeding of any major injury, how to conduct CPR if needed and move someone as safely as possible from a burning vehicle. In the majority of cases, you should never move an injured person from a vehicle involved in a crash.
However, if the car is on fire or in danger of exploding, there is obviously a need to move everyone to a safe distance. Your staff should also know to move their car out of the way of oncoming traffic if at all possible. This will help keep a pile-up from happening and thus others getting hurt.
Document Everything
As a business owner, if you know anything, you know that the proof is always in the paperwork. Your workers should collect insurance information and any other pertinent information, such as identification, from every driver involved. Make sure that your employees carry some way to document any accident that may occur. Then, have them to photograph everything that would be useful in the insurance claim.
Cell phones are great for this and most everyone already has one. Have them take pictures of any and all damage to each car involved and to any public or private property, such as street signs or a fence surrounding someone’s yard. Also be sure to document any and all injuries claimed to be caused by the wreck.
The speed of business requires us to be on the move, more often than not. Make sure to educate your employees on how to handle things if the speed of business comes to a screeching halt behind the wheel of a car.
Originally posted on March 15, 2018 @ 3:32 pm
