You're carrying a box up a driveway, you step on an uneven paver, and your ankle rolls. Or you lift a 25kg carton and feel something pop in your lower back. Or a dog bites you at a front door. Injuries happen on delivery runs — the physical nature of the job makes them almost inevitable over a career. What you do in the first hour after getting hurt determines how well you're covered, how quickly you recover, and whether your claim (if you need one) is supported or contested.
Step 1: Stop and Assess
Don't try to push through. If you've injured yourself, stop what you're doing and assess the severity. Can you put weight on it? Can you move the affected area? Is there swelling, bleeding, or visible deformity? Continuing to work on an injury makes it worse and can turn a two-week recovery into a two-month one.
If the injury is serious — you can't walk, you can't move your arm, you're bleeding heavily, or you suspect a break — call 000 for an ambulance. Don't try to drive yourself to hospital with a serious injury.
Step 2: Report It Immediately
Call your supervisor. Report the injury as soon as it happens — not at end of day, not tomorrow, not when it doesn't get better. Immediate reporting creates a contemporaneous record that supports your claim. Tell them: what happened, when, where, and how you're feeling.
Document everything. Take photos of where the injury occurred — the uneven paver, the steep stairs, the dog, the heavy box. Note the time, the address, and what you were doing. If there were witnesses (a customer, a passerby), note their details. This evidence is invaluable if the claim is later disputed.
Complete an incident report. Your company will have an incident/injury reporting form. Fill it out as soon as possible while the details are fresh. Be specific and factual — "I twisted my left ankle stepping on a raised paver at 14 Smith Street at approximately 10:15am" is better than "I hurt my ankle on a delivery."
Step 3: Get Medical Attention
See a doctor, even if you think the injury is minor. A medical record created on the day of the injury is the strongest evidence you can have. Tell the doctor it's a workplace injury — this triggers specific documentation that supports a workers' compensation claim if needed.
According to WorkSafe Queensland workers compensation claims, workers' compensation claims require medical evidence of the injury and its connection to work. A doctor's visit on day one establishes both. A visit two weeks later when it hasn't gotten better is harder to link definitively to the workplace incident.
Employees vs Contractors
Employees: You're covered by workers' compensation insurance, which your employer is legally required to hold. This covers medical expenses, rehabilitation, and income replacement if you can't work. Report the injury, see a doctor, and your employer's insurer handles the claim.
Contractors: You are not covered by your client's workers' compensation. You need your own income protection insurance and personal accident cover. If you don't have it and you're injured, you're covering medical costs and lost income yourself. This is one of the biggest financial risks of contracting — and one of the most common oversights. If you're a contractor without injury insurance, get it today. One serious back injury can cost months of lost income.