Working at a large retailer like Walmart comes with certain unavoidable occupational hazards and risks of work-related injuries. While Walmart likely takes reasonable precautions to ensure a safe working environment, accidents and injuries may still occur given the nature of the work, heavy equipment, customer interactions, and long hours spent on your feet.
If you get injured while employed at Walmart as a result of any of the common causes of work-related injuries, it’s vitally important to take appropriate action right away and follow proper procedures. Doing so ensures you get promptly into Walmart’s injury management system so that appropriate medical treatment is coordinated without delay.
Here is what you should know about the essential steps to take if you are injured on the job at Walmart and the injury unfortunately worsens over time.
Key actions covered include:
- Documenting the initial injury event
- Seeking prompt medical evaluation and care
- Managing any follow-up treatment periods
- Reporting any deterioration in injury status
- Accessing extended benefits if disability persists
Report the Initial Injury in Detail
Soon after getting injured while working at Walmart – no matter how minor it may seem at the time – you must report it immediately to your direct supervisor, department manager, or store manager. Do not delay reporting even seemingly insignificant incidents thinking you can self-treat the issue on your own. There is usually an injury report form that must be completed regarding specifics such as:
- Date, time, exact location of incident
- What you were doing when the injury occurred
- How it happened (struck by object, slip and fall, strain from lifting, etc.)
- Part(s) of the body affected (back, wrist, etc.)
- Any safety equipment in use (lifting belt, ladder, etc.)
- Names of witnesses, if any
- Onsite first aid provided, if any
Providing comprehensive details establishes an accurate record that the injury occurred specifically during your regular work activities at Walmart, rather than outside of work. This documentation is invaluable if additional treatment, lost wages, or other benefits need to be pursued down the road.
Additionally, thoroughly reporting injuries enables Walmart to proactively identify and remedy any safety issues, faulty equipment, inadequate policies or need for additional employee training that may have contributed to the incident. This protects you and your coworkers from similar harm in the future.
Seek Prompt Medical Attention
After promptly notifying your Walmart manager and Human Resources staff about the injury event, you will be directed to seek further medical evaluation and care either onsite or at a recommended occupational health clinic or emergency room, depending on severity. Some locations may have a Walmart Care Clinic available as well.
Be sure to inform all treating healthcare providers that your injury occurred specifically while working at Walmart so it is documented as such in the medical records. Follow all guidance regarding:
- Diagnostic testing to determine injury extent (x-rays, MRI scans, etc.)
- Specialist referrals, if needed
- Prescribed medications to manage pain and inflammation
- Use of medical equipment like crutches or wrist brace
- Recommended duration of rest before return to full-duty work
- Exact physical restrictions for modified duty, if applicable
Closely complying with the initial recommended treatment serves to substantiate that prompt attention was given to an injury that happened during the regular course of work at Walmart, making it more likely needed services will continue to be covered and coordinated through Walmart’s occupational injury system.
Manage Ongoing Follow Up Care
Unfortunately, many work-related injuries require extended follow-up medical care to resolve fully such as:
- Multiple cycles of physical therapy
- Repeated orthopedic evaluations
- Ongoing imaging tests to monitor healing
- Potential surgical interventions
- Prescription medication changes
In some cases, this ongoing injury management may last weeks, months or longer depending on factors like:
- The severity of the original injury
- Effectiveness of early treatment
- Ability to modify work activities sufficiently
- Development of complications
Do your best to comply fully with all follow-up medical care prescribed – even if it is highly disruptive to your work schedule, finances and personal life. This continued active treatment again reinforces that your lasting medical issues originated with an on-the-job injury while working at Walmart. Staying compliant also reduces self-treatment actions that could negatively impact your recovery.
Be sure to provide your manager and Walmart HR staff with updates after any follow-up treatment appointments. Provide details on:
- Changes to work restrictions
- Results of recent test findings
- Any modifications to the treatment plan
- Projected timeframe for recovery
Documenting follow-up care and associated work limitations demonstrates you are still managing medical issues tied directly to your original work-related injury rather than an unrelated condition.
Report Any Worsening Symptoms
Despite your best efforts at prompt and appropriate medical treatment, some injuries worsen over time instead of improving. A number of factors can contribute to this deterioration:
- Incomplete initial diagnosis
- Development of unforeseen complications
- Higher than expected recurrence risk
- Accumulated further damage with continued activity
- Suboptimal initial medical management
For example, work-related musculoskeletal injuries can get worse the more you continue working. Worsening symptoms and complications can thus develop with continued activity.
If your injury symptoms flare up further or fail to resolve on the expected timeline, promptly notify your Walmart manager and the managing healthcare providers. Explain that you have actively participated in Walmart’s injury management process but now have worsening symptoms believed to be tied back to the original workplace injury incident.
Clearly communicating worsening conditions is essential to documenting that your current heightened medical issues relate back to the injury incurred while working at Walmart, rather than being caused by separate non-occupational factors.
This puts the proper support process in motion to get reassessment and modified treatment interventions covered by Walmart’s workers’ compensation coordinated system. Delaying reporting recurrences or unexpected declines in recovery status weakens the link back to the documented work-related injury and risks coverage denials.
Consider Extended Benefits
Most minor to moderate workplace injuries can resolve fully over weeks or several months with Walmart’s structured workers’ compensation medical management process. However, more severe or complicated injury cases may require consideration of additional benefits such as:
Intermittent Medical Leave
- If medical appointments or treatment procedures will be frequent enough to infringe heavily on work hours over a prolonged timeframe, talk to Walmart HR about arranging approved intermittent medical leave.
- This allows you to take limited blocks of time off as needed for care while still retaining your job position.
Extended Medical Leave
- A serious injury expected to impact work capacity for an uninterrupted period of several weeks or months may warrant requesting a formal extended medical leave of absence.
- This again gives you the flexibility to focus fully on treatment and recovery without severing employment.
Short-Term Disability Assistance
- If an injury occurrence results in diminished functionality for longer than 60 to 90 days despite compliant medical care, short-term disability benefits may provide partial wage replacement for up to several months.
Long-Term Disability Options
- A small fraction of catastrophic work injuries cause permanent impairments that prohibit return to the original job even after exhaustive treatment and rehabilitation.
- In these unfortunate worst-case scenarios, applying for long-term disability aid can become necessary though the qualification criteria are stringent.
While concentrating on medical care, always feel empowered to inquire with Walmart HR staff about additional benefits you may be eligible for if a workplace injury disrupts your capacity to perform your regular job duties for an extended interval.
Final Thoughts
Injuries on the job can happen even in environments like Walmart where safety is a high priority.
When an injury occurs, take prompt action by reporting it, seeking immediate care coordinated by Walmart, complying fully with all follow-up treatment, and requesting additional support if recovery is delayed or incomplete.
This approach gives you the best results both for your health and for retaining access to Walmart’s substantial employee medical benefits tied to occupational injury cases.