No matter how safe a work environment you provide, accidents are going to happen. In the seconds after the accident occurs, split decisions are made about treatment options that, in the long run, can cost your business many unnecessary thousands of dollars.

The choice usually comes down to the employee’s personal physician or the nearest emergency room. In both cases, the doctor is probably able to do a fine job treating the injury, but has no understanding at all of Workers’ Compensation laws and return-to-work focus.

Usually an Occupational Medical Center is the best choice for workplace injuries that are not life-threatening. Injured employees can be seen and treated quickly and can often return to work in a couple of hours. By contrast, a hospital emergency room takes patients in the order of the seriousness of their injuries, so people with relatively minor injuries may wait many hours to be treated.