Companies and employers work hard to prevent workplace accidents. Everyone understands the immense costs such accidents can have on a company from medical costs, lower employee efficiency, to poor customer perception. However, despite the very best efforts, workplace accidents still occur.
Employers are responsible for their employees. Consequently, each employer needs to look at two aspects of workplace accidents - prevention and the employer's response when accidents do occur.
Workplace Accidents - What Should Employers Do When Accidents Occur?
As an employer, your first response must be to get medical assistance. It is critical that you put aside any concerns regarding financial issues, and focus on the wellbeing of the employee. If it is an emergency, call 911. If it is not an emergency, you can find alternative transportation to take the injured worker for medical attention. If immediate medical attention is not required, you should still encourage the employee to see medical personnel as soon as possible to ensure that there are no underlying serious issues.
You need to assess each situation to determine if immediate steps need to be taken to rectify any obvious issues, ensuring the safety of all other employees. It could be as simple as cleaning up a wet floor, or more involved such as shutting down a piece of machinery. On the other hand, perhaps no modifications are necessary.
After ensuring the care of the employee, you need to handle any necessary paperwork. Most companies have a standard protocol to follow in these situations. All required paperwork needs to be filled out, which may involve talking to any witnesses. The employee's compensation insurance carrier needs to be contacted.
When the employee is ready to return to work, you must welcome them back. The injured employee may be able to return to work immediately, may need a few days off, or maybe off for several months in the case of serious injuries. The longer the employee misses work, the greater his or her adjustment becomes upon returning to work. Employers should be prepared to provide some form of flexible arrangements for those employees who cannot perform their previous duties.
Workplace Accidents - Future Prevention
The occurrence of a workplace accident provides the employer with an excellent opportunity to review the company's safety policies. Does the policy need to be adjusted in response to this incident in order to prevent it from happening again? Perhaps it is time to once again address the issue of workplace safety with management and staff. This can be done through company memos or staff meetings. Some employers turn to outside help and bring in an outside speaker.
Brad Hurtig is a rising star in the arena of motivational/corporate speaking. His unique ability to incorporate his life story and the difficulties he has overcome within the message of the importance of workplace safety and preventing workplace accidents creates a lasting impact on both management and employees. As a teenager, Brad lost both hands in a workplace accident. Consequently, Brad's viewpoint is poignant and memorable, highlighting the importance of preventing workplace accidents if you'd like to hear his message contact him today.