Regardless of the industry, workplace injuries are a fact of life in running an organization. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that about 2.5% of employees will have a workplace injury or illness every year, although some jobs carry higher rates. As an HR professional, your goal is to minimize the risk your employees face during work, while ensuring that your company follows all the rules for preventing an injury, providing proper insurance, and reporting injuries as they happen. With this advice, you will discover how to create a robust workplace injury management plan.
Follow Safety Guidelines
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) maintains regulations that businesses must follow to reduce the risk of injury or illness in the workplace. Your state may also set additional guidelines. Rules are based on the industry and the type of job. If you are unsure which guidelines you need to consider, you can visit OSHA’s website and browse through their resources to learn more. They also provide no-cost consultations to small businesses to help you identify possible hazards and determine how best to mitigate them. Make sure that you understand all guidelines, so you can implement accurate plans and encourage correct behaviors.
Carry Required Insurance
Your state sets rules for the types of insurance you must carry and how you have to maintain it. Most states require that businesses carry workers’ compensation insurance. Depending on your state, you may need to purchase it through an insurance carrier or a state fund, or you might have the option to self-insure. When you consider insurance for your business, remember to factor in the minimum values that you must carry. Be clear and accurate about the type of work your company performs, so you can get the proper coverage.
Maintain an Effective Injury Prevention Program
The best way of avoiding the hassle of filing an injury claim is to create an effective injury prevention program. Reducing incidents of injury is a task that everyone needs to do for maximum efficacy, so you should get all employees on board with new safety guidelines. Common safety prevention plans include:
- Publishing safety guidelines in areas where employees can see
- Inspecting and mitigating possible hazards
- Wearing appropriate PPE
- Cleaning up spills and debris
- Implementing and practicing safety drills
Following the plan should be utterly ordinary for employees, so there is little incentive not to obey safety rules.
Ensure Proper Documentation of Injuries
When an injury happens, you should take prompt action to document all relevant aspects of the situation. Evaluate possible hazards and recommend that the employee seek medical attention. Find out what happened and write down the situation or take pictures to provide evidence. If your business operates in an industry where minor injuries are common, you may want to consider technology to assist you in following guidelines. Some software solutions can help you track your safety guidelines, injury documentation, and reporting, so your efforts are accurate and consistent.
Follow Correct Reporting Procedures
Once the incident is no longer an active hazard, you can follow reporting procedures. First, prepare an injury report to submit to OSHA. Second, consult your insurance carrier for advice. You may want to talk to a legal professional about your rights and responsibilities, particularly if you choose to self-insure. If you anticipate that your employe will need a leave of absence or face other difficulties due to the injury, consider recommending that they seek legal advice from bus accident attorneys or other qualified representation.
Dealing with workplace injuries is something that you will likely have to do throughout your career, so it makes sense to know what to do. By ensuring that you obey safety regulations, carry the right insurance, and attend to injuries properly, you can reduce the complications your company and your employees face during these incidents.
Sources
- https://technologyadvice.com/blog/human-resources/injury-at-work-employer-responsibilities/
- https://www.findlaw.com/smallbusiness/liability-and-insurance/handling-a-claim-employer-and-employee-responsibilities.html
- https://www.bls.gov/iif/
- https://www.osha.gov/consultation
Scott Marshall is the founder of Scott Marshall Injury Attorneys. He is an injury trial lawyer who has been representing injured clients since 1995. Marshall founded his law firm in 1997 and has attained an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. The AV rating is the highest rating for lawyers from the nation’s oldest, most prestigious lawyer rating service.
