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It’s not just employers that are responsible for keeping everybody safe in the workplace. Employees also play a key role in preventing accidents and maintaining a safe work environment.
Sustaining an injury while you’re working may lead to semi-permanent or permanent physical damage to your body, as well as some emotional trauma from the accident. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may need to fork out medical bills too.
In some cases, your employer may be responsible for covering the costs of your medical bills. This is something that a personal injury lawyer will help you to negotiate with your employer.
Understanding how to choose a personal injury lawyer who specializes in workplace injury cases can significantly impact the outcome of your negotiations and ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve.
Ideally, you won’t reach the stage of hiring a personal injury lawyer because you won’t have sustained any injuries in the first place. Here are some top tips on how you can avoid accidents and injuries at work.
Identify and Report Hazards
It doesn’t matter how many health and safety protocols an employer has implemented if their employees aren’t going to follow them. As an employee, it’s your responsibility (and your colleague’s responsibility) to keep each other safe.
If you identify a potential hazard in the workplace, you should do everything you can to remove this hazard. If it’s something that is out of your hands, you must report this hazard immediately to a senior staff member.
Every workplace is unique and each one presents its own set of risks and hazards. However, staying as alert as possible during each shift is key to catching potential safety hazards before they cause an accident and injury.
Attend Safety Training Sessions
By law, employers are required to provide mandatory health and safety training to every single employee that they hire. While this is a legal requirement, your employer can’t physically force you to sit in a chair and listen to training videos all day.
It’s your responsibility to attend training days and, more importantly, pay attention during these sessions. Failure to take on board all of the necessary training protocols and procedures may lead to an incident later down the line.
Safety training programs are particularly important in high-risk workplaces, such as construction sites or warehouses. Employees in these areas will be working with heavy equipment, potentially dangerous chemicals, and moving machinery.
Even if you work in a lower-risk area, such as a cocktail bar or a school, you will still need to take note of the training protocols.
Wear Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is necessary when you’re working with harmful chemicals and substances or certain pieces of equipment. You may only need to wear gloves and goggles for your job or you might need more extensive PPE, depending on your specific role.
As an employee, you must always wear the appropriate PPE for your work to prevent injuries. If you are unsure of what type of equipment you need to wear, refer to the health and safety manual that your employer will have provided.
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