How To Prevent Work Injuries
Posted in Work Injury on October 12, 2021
The reality is that work injuries are going to happen. The good thing, is, however, that most work injuries are certainly preventable. Even though injured workers can receive compensation for their losses, it is best for every party involved to take the steps necessary to prevent work injuries from occurring in the first place. Here, we want to discuss the best steps to prevent work injuries in Arizona.
Preventing Work Injuries – 10 Steps
- Incorporate safety and wellness plans: When there are safety and wellness plans at job sites, this creates a foundation for an overall safe working environment. These plans can help encourage overall health as well as prevent hazardous practices and repetitive stress behaviors.
- Conduct pre-work physicals: Some workplace accidents occur because workers are inexperienced or physically unable to perform the job requirements. Pre-job placement physicals can help eliminate these risks.
- Educate employees and supervisors: There should be continual safety training in a workplace, both for rank and file employees as well as management staff.
- Research workplace risks: Every workplace should be evaluated by safety experts who can point out possible workplace risks, including structural risks as well as employee behavior risks.
- Provide adequate protection: Every workplace comes with some type of risk. Employers need to understand all known risks inside their workplace and provide adequate protection for employees.
- Ensure adequate staffing levels: Not having enough staff can lead to major workplace risks when it comes to injuries. This can include overworked employees suffering from exhaustion and cutting corners to meet output.
- Do not take shortcuts: Accidents occur when employees skip required steps so they can complete their job on schedule. Every supervisor needs to make it clear that employees should never take shortcuts to do their job. This also means reducing pressure on employees to complete tasks quickly.
- Inspect all company vehicles: Vehicle accidents are a leading cause of workplace injuries and fatalities. All workplace vehicles should be thoroughly inspected on a regular basis to prevent accidents.
- Monitor safety measures: After initial safety training, employers should continuously monitor all safety measures implemented in the workplace.
- Ensure an orderly workplace: Depending on the type of workplace, the layout should have adequate footpaths, lighting, railing, spill cleanup stations, and more.
We understand that no two workplaces are exactly alike. The steps needed to prevent injuries in an industrial plant are going to look different than the steps needed to maintain safety in an office space. However, injuries can happen in any workplace, which means that safety measures must be in place at every job site.
Work With an Attorney After Sustaining a Workplace Injury
Even though preventing injuries is the best course of action, we understand that work injuries are still going to occur in Phoenix and throughout Arizona. If you or somebody you love has sustained a workplace injury in Phoenix or the surrounding areas, reach out to an attorney as soon as possible. A Phoenix work injury lawyer can use their resources to handle every aspect of the claim. This will include investigating the incident, determining liability, and standing up to aggressive workers’ compensation insurance carriers.