Workplace Injuries – Tips and Tricks for Recognizing, Preventing Accidents
Posted on 17th May 2023
When an injury occurs at the workplace, liability for the injuries typically falls on the employer with very few exemptions, for example, if a third party caused the injuries.
Workplace injuries can have a huge financial impact on a business due to the increased cost of insurance premiums, making workplace safety a priority for most employers. If you are an employer looking to improve workplace safety, this guide can help you with tips and tricks for recognizing and preventing accidents.
Recognizing Hazards
Different work environments will have different hazards, so before you can work on preventing accidents, you first need to identify the hazards that apply to your work environment. Common hazards include:
Physical hazards. Physical hazards include objects and conditions that can cause harm, such as slippery or chipped floors, poor lighting, broken handrails, and unguarded machinery.
Chemical hazards. These include substances and chemicals that can cause harm, such as cleaning agents, solvents, acids, poisonous gasses, paints, etc.
Ergonomic hazards. These hazards result from poor workplace design, tool design, repetitive movements, and improper posture.
Biological hazards. Biological hazards are common in the healthcare sector, where employees are exposed to bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms.
Preventing Workplace Accidents
Once you have identified the hazards relevant to your industry and workplace, the next step should be to prevent them by implementing various measures, including:
Comprehensive Safety Training
Safety training is among the best ways to enhance safety and prevent workplace accidents. The best time to start safety training is when you are onboarding new hires but also have a continuous training program to ensure that safety is always at the front of the mind of your employees at all times.
Topics to cover in the training include hazard recognition, emergency procedures, reporting protocols, and proper use of equipment.
Regular Inspection and Maintenance
You can only prevent accidents by identifying where and when they are more likely to happen. So, conducting regular inspections to identify hazards is necessary.
You may not always be present to conduct the inspections, but you can delegate that role to some of your employees. Once a hazard is identified, it must be addressed following the laid out protocol.
Use Appropriate Safety Equipment
Different hazards call for different safety gear. So once you identify the hazards in your industry, equip your personnel with the safety equipment necessary to enhance their safety.
Industries have different standards for PPEs, so ensure you meet the industry standard. For example, construction workers may need hard hats, high-visibility clothing, steel-toed boots, and fall protection equipment. The provision of PPEs is not enough. Ensure that your employees get training about their proper use and that having them when on the job is mandatory.
Incentivize Compliance
Employees may not always be so keen on safety, and incentivizing it is one way to engage them more. You can create a program that pays bonuses to employees that report potential hazards.
It doesn’t always have to be reporting. You can keep records of employees that prioritize safety and offer bonuses to the best performers. While this approach may sound expensive, it is nothing compared to the losses of an accident.
When an Accident Occurs
When an accident occurs at the workplace, employees have a right to compensation through their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. Recovering compensation for work-related injuries should be straightforward, but it is not always so.
So, you should consider hiring local lawyers with experience handling cases similar to yours if you have been injured at work and feel that the injuries have a life-changing impact on you. For example, if you suffered injuries in an industrial accident in New York, skilled NYC lawyers for industrial accidents are best suited to handle your case.
Final Words
You cannot eliminate the chances of an accident in the workplace by 100%. But the tips highlighted in this guide can help keep those chances low. If you are a victim of an accident, you should be able to recover compensation for your losses by filing a claim through your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance.
