Workplace accidents and injuries occur more frequently than you think. In fact, up to 1,000 workers die worldwide from workplace accidents daily, while up to 6,500 succumb to work-related diseases during the same period, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Additionally, 374 million workers are subjected to minor and severe injuries from non-fatal occupational accidents every year. While not resulting in deaths, these accidents may be minimized or prevented by observing proper safety protocols.
When it comes to preventing deaths or occurrences, time and knowledge are critical and delineates the difference between life and death. Below are the things that you can do following an accident.
If You’re An Injured Worker
An employer is held liable for accidents that occur while employees perform any of their work duties. While most countries have different legal statutes on paying an injured employee, the United States Workers’ Compensation Law, for instance, requires companies to pay for their employees’ medical expenses. This law also applies even outside the workplace, provided that the worker is performing work-related tasks.
For instance, if you’re hurt while at work due to your employer’s negligence and violation of basic Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules, you may consider filing a case against the management. If you knew very little about the basic legal provisions and compensations for workers, click to find out more
before considering this option.
Most states have statutes of limitations that dictate how long you can file a worker’s compensation case. The average limit is two years following the accident. If you will act slow and file belatedly your claim, it will be rejected by the court.
If A Colleague Gets Hurt
For some, it can be distressing to witness someone you know injured while working. But you have to take emotions aside to save a life.
While working to foster a culture of workplace safety, accidents may occur without warning.
Here’s how you can appropriately respond to accidents and injuries in work settings.
1. Assess The Situation
• Check For Potential Hazards: Before touching the injured staff, check the surroundings for potential hazards. For instance, if a colleague was electrocuted, turn off the power source first, before rushing to your ailing co-worker.
• Approach The Victim: After ensuring there are no risks, approach the victim and assess the situation. Check for the presence of blood, or any visible injuries. Examine also whether the person is conscious or not.
• Perform First Aid: Follow your company’s safety protocols. Let someone call 911 and perform first aid to the injured, as necessary. However, do it only if you’re a trained first aider. If not, have the person in charge of the company do it.
While waiting for the ambulance to arrive in case of moderate to critical injuries, try to talk to the injured worker to calm their nerves and help them stay awake.
2. Secure The Scene
Once professional help arrives, the company has to take over to restore order within the office. Doing the following could help:
• Limit Staff Movement: While the scene may rattle other staff, some would rush to check on what happened. While these are all understandable and done with good intentions, it’s best to limit the movement of people within the accident site to prevent another untoward incident from happening.
• Determine Possible Witnesses: Don’t let other staff go near the scene by placing signs, just as policemen do when securing a crime scene. However, make sure to identify who may have witnessed the incident. Take their names for interviews as the company would need to conduct an internal investigation. For serious injuries, the company may be looking at a potential lawsuit.
If the office has security cameras, have them reviewed to see what happened and to corroborate or rebuff witness accounts.
• Preserve Evidence: Take photos and videos of the scene but never share them with friends or on your social media account. All the pieces of equipment involved should be secured as well.
3. Post-Accident Activities
Once you’ve done the things discussed in the earlier sections, the management should launch an investigation against what happened to understand the lapses that need to be corrected.
• Reporting The Injury Or Accident. Depending on the protocols, the incident may need to be documented and filed with the safety group—who would then decide how to move forward. This committee should be unbiased and composed mainly of workers at the lower or mid-levels rather than the executives. In less serious cases, an employee should still report an incident even if it didn’t lead to serious injuries
• Investigating The Accident. Make sure to launch an investigation to understand how the incident occurred. Talk to the witnesses, review the security cameras, and check the evidence collected right after the incident.
Identify the loopholes in the safety rules or in the way standard operating procedures are being done. Make the necessary corrections as soon as possible.
Ideally, the persons in charge of them should have an initial report submitted within 24 hours following the accident. Afterwards, the committee should come up with recommendations based on the evidence gathered as well as the findings.
• Review Safety Protocols. Workplace safety guidelines are not set in stone. It should be revisited, reviewed, and revised often either to improve current practices, remove those that are not applicable, or introduce new rules that were not thought as important in previous discussions.
• Consult With A Lawyer. Depending on the circumstances and the evidence gathered, your company may be liable for damages incurred by the injured worker. Check your legal options by talking to a skilled workers’ compensation attorney. Often, settling out of court may be better than facing a full-blown court battle.
4. Institutionalized Proper Prevention Methods
No matter how foolproof your workplace security practices may be, accidents can still happen. The best that you can do then is to minimize accident risks. Take heed of the following reminders to prevent another critical accident.
• Inspect your facilities daily and report any problems with the supervisor.
• Have any of the machines fixed or sent to the right offices for repair.
• Make sure all the pieces of equipment are well-maintained.
• Equip your employees with functional and proper safety gear.
• Ensure the availability of first aid kits containing basic items such as gauze bandages, antiseptic, plasters, gloves, tweezers, and so on. Place these in highly accessible areas within the office.
• Fire alarms and smoke detectors should be working and exit areas clearly marked in case of an evacuation.
• Have your employees attend first aid and basic safety courses at least once every year.
• Discuss the safety protocols with your employees. Better yet, ask for their involvement by sharing the draft document and ask for their inputs during a meeting.
• Provide a copy of your safety procedure to everyone, even to fresh hires or part-time employees.
• Teach your employees how to use basic safety equipment such as fire extinguishers or an automated external defibrillator (AED), if you have one.
• Encourage your employees to perform stretches and light exercises every now and then.
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Final Thoughts
As with sickness, an ounce of prevention is way better than a pound of cure when it comes to accident prevention. While you can’t completely eliminate them from taking place, the least you can do as an employer is to make working more comfortable and safer for all employees, regardless of their position in the company.
Make sure to train your employees, upgrade, and maintain your facilities and equipment. Create a culture of safety to minimize the threats of workplace accidents. Include safety and first aid in your regular company trainings for everyone.
If you’re an injured employee, file a compensation claim with the appropriate office. If you’re having problems, or think you’re entitled to more help, consider filing a workers’ compensation complaint before the court.
