How to prevent accidents at work
There is always a chance that an accident will occur regardless of where you work. There are of course certain factors which will have an impact on how severe the accident is such as they type of job, the equipment used in the job and what the worker has to do in the job. Although there is always that looming risk of an accident, it does not mean a person can’t prepare and minimise the chance of an accident happening to them whilst at work.
The first step is to carry out a risk assessment of your working area to help to identify any potential dangers so that they can be rectified. A risk assessment should be carried out by the employer but these will only go so far and at times are carried out thoroughly enough. Conducting your own risk assessment will mean that you really are as safe as you can possibly be.
By far the easiest and most way to carry out a risk assessment is to walk through your daily routine looking at the routes you take and the equipment you use and making notes on each different aspect. This will show areas or equipment which need improvement and let you make any necessary changes that you can do there and then. Some of the most dangerous things are simple things like slip or trip hazards as a result of people being careless or untidy so it is important to watch out for these.
Once you know what you are at risk from it makes it much easier to make changes to the areas which need them so that you are no longer at risk or the risk is at least minimised. Any areas which needed cleaning or tidying to prevent trips and slips should be tidied immediately whereas other concerns with equipment or the building should be taken to the employer so that they can make alterations.
It is the responsibility of the employer to make a workplace safe and they have a legal obligation to do so. Despite it being the responsibility of the employer, at times accidents can happen even in the safest of workplaces. A lot of people will be entitled to personal injury claims for accidents which happen at work but these claims will offer little or no comfort if the extent of the accident means a person can’t work again or can’t do the things they enjoy doing.
Contact a solicitor today to discuss your work accident compensation claim.