Yes - a recorded statement can lock your employee, and sometimes your business, into facts before the full injury picture is clear. In Michigan, you do not have to let an insurance adjuster casually control the story in the first day or two after a serious work injury.

In the next 24 hours: report the injury to your workers' compensation carrier and document exactly what happened. If this was a flash-flood, hydroplaning, or storm-debris incident in Ann Arbor, save photos, texts, weather alerts, dashcam video, and names of witnesses. If police responded, get the report number. If a city crew, contractor, delivery driver, or property owner may have caused the hazard, that matters.

Do not guess about fault or pressure your employee to give a broad recorded statement right away. In Michigan workers' comp, the employer's insurer may investigate, but your employee also has rights. If this involved a vehicle, Michigan no-fault rules may apply too, and a lawsuit outside no-fault is usually limited to serious impairment of body function.

In the next week: file the internal accident report and make sure the worker gets medical care. Under Michigan workers' comp, for the first 28 days after treatment starts, the employer can direct medical care. After that, the employee can usually treat with a doctor of their choice if they notify the employer or carrier.

Also look for a third-party claim. Workers' comp is often not the only lane. If a falling tree, negligent driver, utility contractor, landlord, or road-maintenance issue caused the injury, your employee may have a separate claim without suing your business directly.

In the next month: keep every bill, wage record, and restriction note. Watch for release forms that sneak in broad authorizations. Michigan's general injury filing deadline is usually 3 years, but key evidence disappears long before that. If the injury happened on a road or involved a public agency, notice rules can be much shorter.