Work accident
An accident refers to a sudden, unpredictable event caused by an external factor that leads to an injury or a disease.
- The event in question is independent of the employee’s will, i.e. it is unexpected and surprising to the person.
- Suddenness refers to the unexpectedness and speed of the event (i.e. a trip, a fall or a crash).
- External factors refer to the cause of the accident that is independent of the injured person, such as a slippery street, a hole in the road, an object falling onto the person, or a sharp object coming into contact with their hand.
A work accident has to occur at work (when performing work) or in conditions related to work. Conditions related to work refer to various situations outside the actual work. This means that accidents are compensated only if they occur at the workplace, in an area that is part of the workplace, when commuting to work or back, or when an employee is running errands for their employer.
In addition to actual accidents, pain caused by work-related motions is compensated. This type of an injury is, for example, pain in a muscle or a tendon that occurred in connection to a certain work-related motion, which occurred without an accident when the employee has repeated a single movement, thus putting stress on their body.
An injury or illness at the workplace caused by an assault or other intentional action by another person will be compensated as an accident.
What should I do in case of a work accident?
Report the work accident to your employer and see a doctor without delay
When a work accident occurs, the employee has to report the matter to the employer as soon as possible and seek out medical care, following the guidelines on work accidents in place at your workplace. You should see a doctor immediately after an accident.
It is important to make sure that the doctor records the information about the accident correctly. The information must be true to the accident that occurred and its conditions.
Employer reports accidents to the insurance company
The employer is obligated to report the work accident to their insurance company. This is done with a form that states all the necessary information about the employment relationship (such as pay information), the work performed and the accident conditions.
Make sure that your employer has filled in and submitted the accident report
If your employer does not submit the accident report, you may start the compensation process yourself. Submit a written notification to the insurance company, stating your personal information, the name and address of your employer, and where, when and how the accident occurred. The accident report is submitted to the insurance company from which your employer has taken out an insurance policy. The name and the address of the insurance company must be visible at the workplace, for example on the bulletin board.
If the employer does not have an insurance, the Finnish Workers’ Compensation Center manages the compensation process.
The employer must report serious work accidents to the police and the occupational health and safety authorities. A work accident is considered to be serious if the employee dies or becomes permanently or severely disabled.