Preventing Workplace Injuries in the New Year
Employers have a duty to make the workplace safe for their employees, and certain health and safety regulations and rules govern various industries. If you have any questions or concerns about a health or safety issue in your workplace before an injury happens, you can talk with a lawyer about Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements and other safety rules that apply to your particular South Florida workplace. Taking steps to prevent injuries is better than having to deal with an injury when it happens. Although employers do have to take a wide range of safety issues into account, it is also important for employees to know how to prevent injuries in order to avoid getting hurt on the job where possible (even if another party is negligent).
Our Sunrise workers’ compensation attorneys can tell you more about workplace injury prevention and can provide you with more information about seeking workers’ compensation benefits if an injury does occur. We are here to help you seek the compensation you need.
Ways to Prevent Injuries at Your Workplace
Every workplace is different. Accordingly, there is no single way to prevent workplace injuries in general, and it is important to identify common hazards in your profession, as well as possible safety issues at your particular workplace or worksite. More broadly, however, our workers’ compensation attorneys can tell you about common injuries that happen on the job in general and ways to avoid them. The following are identified by OSHA as methods to prevent commonly cited types of workplace injuries:
- Know the protocols for emergencies in your workplace, including what to do if you are exposed to hazard chemicals or other materials, if you sustain a workplace burn, or if you encounter any other dangerous materials;
- Know the emergency action plan for your workplace;
- Wear personal protective equipment when it is available and required;
- Know where portable fire extinguishers are and how to use them;
- Learn about electrocution risks and electrical injuries before working with any electrical materials or sites;
- Complete all trainings in using power tools, machinery, scaffolding, and other dangerous tools or materials;
- Recognize tripping hazards and remove or report them;
- Always use machine guards where possible; and
- Understand the use of fall protection systems if you work in construction or related fields and employ them.
Obtaining Workers’ Compensation Benefits After an Injury
If you are injured, the first thing to do is to seek emergency medical care if you need it. You should also document the scene of the accident or injury where possible.
Next, Florida law requires you to report your injury to your employer within 30 days from the date you were harmed. Be sure to seek advice from a lawyer as soon as possible as you move forward with your case.
Contact a Sunrise Workers’ Compensation Attorney
Anyone who was injured on the job in South Florida may be eligible to obtain workers’ compensation benefits and should get in touch with one of the experienced Sunrise workers’ compensation attorneys at the Law Offices of David M. Benenfeld, P.A. as soon as possible. We know how difficult it can be to try to navigate the Florida workers’ compensation system on your own, and our firm is here to ensure that you take all the steps necessary in order to have the best chance of obtaining the workers’ compensation benefits you need at this difficult time.
Source:
floridahealth.gov/environmental-health/occupational-health-surveillance/_documents/hazard-report-ocr.pdf