Work Related Accidents

Work Related Accidents – What Must Be Reported?

The law requires employers to provide their employees with working conditions that are free of known dangers. The Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which sets and enforces protective workplace safety and health standards.

OSHA also provides information, training and assistance to workers and employers. Workers may file a complaint to have OSHA inspect their workplace if they believe that their employer is not following OSHA standards or that there are serious hazards. The Act was passed to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed at work.”

The above quote was taken from the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration website at http://www.osha.gov/

Certain types of accidents must be reported by Employers and self-employed people, as well as people who are in control of the premises.

Almost every type of injury listed below needs to be reported, if it happens to an employee, a self-employed person or a member of the public, if their injury took place on the premises.

Work-related deaths

Any death of an employee, a self-employed person working on the premises or a visiting individual, must be reported.

Major injuries

Some types of potentially serious injuries should be reported.

1. Anything that causes one to loose consciousness

2. Acute illnesses needing medical treatment or a loss of consciousness. This could be the result from exposure to a biological agent or absorption of any harmful substance through ingestion, inhalation or through the skin.

3. Dislocation of the shoulders, hips, knees or spine

4. Any type of penetrating injury to the eye

5. Electrical shocks or burns causing unconsciousness and requiring resuscitation or hospital admission for over 24 hours

6. Any injury leading to hypothermia, unconsciousness or a heat-related illness and requiring resuscitation or hospital admission for over 24 hours

7. Broken/fractured bones, excluding the fingers, thumbs and toes

8. Amputations

Injures Lasting Over Three Days

If a work-related injury causes the injured person to be off for more than three days of work or if the person is unable to perform their usual duties for more than three days, this needs to be reported.

Work-related diseases

Besides injuries, there are diseases that need to be reported.

Musculoskeletal disorders, such as hand-arm vibration syndrome, work-related cancer and decompression illness

Serious infections that include tetanus, legionellosis, anthrax, tuberculosis, hepatitis and leptospirosis

Lung diseases that are work-related include asthma, mesothelioma, asbestosis, farmer’s lung and pneumoconiosis

Skin diseases that are work-related

Dangerous occurrences (accidents that almost happened)

Potentially dangerous incidents should be reported, even if no one was actually injured. If an incident did occur which could have caused severe human injury or illness, it should be reported.

Making a claim for compensation

If you have suffered a serious accident or injury at work, whether it was your fault or not, it needs to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive. You may be able to file a claim for compensation for your injury. Your employer will be insured for compensation claims and you will be able to claim on a no win, no fee basis.

Many people find the time after a work related accident or injury can be hard. The recuperation costs and loss of earnings can leave one severely out of pocket with medical expenses. With a no win, no fee compensation claim, many of these can be alleviated.

Remember: You cannot be fired for making a personal injury claim against your employer.

“You have the right to a safe workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA

The Encyclopedia of Work-Related Illnesses, Injuries, and Health Issues (Facts on File Library of Health and Living)
by: Ada P. Kahn
publisher: Facts on File, published: 2003-11
ASIN: 0816048444
EAN: 9780816048441
sales rank: 3077928
price: $55.00 (new), $7.98 (used)

The OSHA Answer Book
by: Mark Mcguire Moran
publisher: Moran Associates, published: 2011-01-01
ASIN: B004MME4W2
sales rank: 168910

There are many books written about OSHA but none that cover all this information in just one place. Every employer will want a copy of the new 10th edition- The Anniversary Issue- It is completely re-written, revised and updated with all the latest information. In the past 10 years, this book has sold more than 100,000 copies!

The OSHA Answer Book is your one-stop resource designed to provide you with quick answers to complicated issues. The new 10th edition includes:
•OSHA Recordkeeping – more than 100 new pages of recordkeeping materials.
•New requirements for protecting workers from Hexavalent Chromium exposure.
•New chapter on OSHA’s response to protecting workers in the U.S. Gulf Coast spill..
•The New Injury and Illness Prevention Program.
•How the Obama Administration decides to inspect workplaces and why the average penalties are 10 times higher!
•The new addition to the OSHA 300 Column and;
•New additions to the Personal Protective Equipment, Acetylene, and Electrical standards!

This is a must-have for any business that wants to comply with OSHA regulations!

This book is an effort to place everything that employers need to know about OSHA in a single volume. It is a reference book, designed to be consulted frequently! Information on OSHA that every employer should have is contained within the pages of this book.

It is the author’s hope that The OSHA Answer Book 10th edition. The Anniversary issue will help employers prevent countless injuries and even fatalities, while simplifying the OSHA compliance process.

But even if 1 life is saved, the effort of writing this book (and reading it) will have been worth it.

The OSHA Answer Book was written for 1 purpose only. I want to help employers prevent countless injuries and fatalities, while simplifying the OSHA compliance process.

Many of the OSHA standards imposed upon employers under the OSH Act are inflexible, complex, and detailed, while others are ambiguous and indefinite. There are few, if any employers, who can state with assurance that they are in compliance with all the OSHA requirements that apply in their particular workplace. That is why this book was written and will continue to be written!

All About OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
by: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
published: 2011-06-22
ASIN: B0057Q0V3S
sales rank: 89243

Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure the safety and health of America’s workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process
improvement in workplace safety and health. OSHA establishes and enforces protective standards and reaches out to employers and employees
through technical assistance and consultation programs. OSHA and its state partners have approximately 2,400 inspectors and about 550
state consultants, plus complaint discrimination investigators, engineers, physicians, educators, standard writers, and other technical and support
personnel spread over more than 130 offices throughout the country.
OSHA works to assure the safety and health of all of America’s working men and women. Most employees in the nation come under OSHA’s jurisdiction.
Other users and recipients of OSHA services include: occupational safety and health professionals, the academic community, lawyers, journalists,
and personnel of other government entities. Part of OSHA’s mission is to provide assistance to employers to reduce or eliminate workplace hazards.
OSHA provides a vast array of informational and training materials focusing on numerous safety and health hazards in the workplace.

Construction Safety and OSHA Compliance
Learn how to recognize hazards and become familiar with OSHA standards and guidance information for construction employers and employees.
The Story of OSHA
The Story of OSHA (1980) This film tells workers how OSHA was set up to stem the tide of disease, injury, and death, and what their rights are under the law. Explains how NIOSH conducts tests, how standards are set, and how OSHA investigates complaints. Produced and distributed by OSHA in 1980. Then in 1981, the incoming head of OSHA Thorne Auchter recalled and destroyed most copies. A few copies were kept alive by renegade union officials who refused to return their copies. The penalty for being discovered in possession of one of these films was loosing all OSHA funding for their safety and health programs. This film was preserved through the years through the efforts of Mark Catlin, who made this and other censored OSHA films available for digitizing.

Work Related Accidents

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 at 8:02 AM and is filed under Health issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.