The purpose of a workplace health and safety program is to prevent as many injuries and accidents as possible. Unfortunately, many health and safety programs fail to respond appropriately to accidents or attempt to prevent them in general. In fact, workplace accidents only fell in 2021 because of a decrease in workers, not because anything else had changed.
To ensure the safety of our workers, we must do our best to follow OSHA protocol and accident response procedure best practices. Most of these practices haven’t changed since the 70s.
The Best Offense is a Good Defense
Accidents will always happen in the workplace, so prevention measures don’t equate to a lack of accident response procedures. However, if you want to lower the chances of an incident occurring (and the possibility of a lawsuit), you need to put strict prevention measures in place.
If someone is injured on the job, for example, in New York, your employees have the right to hire a lawyer who can handle workplace injury lawsuits on their behalf. The first thing they’re going to look for is if your workplace properly implemented and trained staff on health and safety protocols. If they find that you haven’t, you could get your operation shut down for good.
To cut down on accident reports, do the following:
- Train staff on how to stay safe on the job
- Explain that they should always be alert when working
- Purchase ergonomic furniture and personal protective equipment
- Maintain an orderly workplace and communicate effectively
- Check the environment for any safety hazards
And, of course, be sure to implement accident response procedures and best practices.
Workplace Accident Response Best Practices In 2023
There are only seven steps your workplace has to follow to ensure that you’re following workplace accident response best practices in 2023. Here are these seven steps.
Step 1: Call 911
In cases where a non-critical injury or near occurs, it’s unlikely you’ll need to call 911. Head injuries are an exception to this rule. If a critical injury occurs, the employer or supervisor is responsible for calling 911 immediately. If a fatality occurs, they must also call the police.
Step 2: Administer First Aid
All staff, whether they’re employees or upper management, should be trained in basic first aid.
The employer or supervisor on staff should administer first aid to the injured person when it’s safe to do so. If doing so would put anyone else in danger, including the injured party, don’t administer first aid until trained emergency personnel arrive at the scene.
Step 3: Secure and Manage the Scene
The employer or supervisor on staff is responsible for securing and managing the scene. This involves clearing the area, securing the scene with barriers, and ensuring there are minimal scene disturbances. A scene may only be disturbed if you’re required to do so to save a life.
Step 4: Notify Necessary Parties
Whether it’s a near miss or an injury, employers are responsible for recording the event.
The parties you notify will depend on how serious the accent is. For example, near misses or minor injuries should be reported to OSHA, while injuries that involve healthcare treatment, critical injuries, or fatalities require supervisor knowledge and federal or state legal authorities.
Step 5: Conduct an Investigation
An investigation should determine the root cause of the event so steps can be taken to ensure that the accident doesn’t happen again. The investigation will involve an evidence-gathering and interviewing process. Once you have your evidence, you can investigate the initial causes.
Step 6: Prepare a Final Report
After the investigation, employees are expected to fill out OSHA form 300, 300A, and 301.
These forms will contain the description of the accident, harm caused by the accident, the root cause, controls implemented, recommendations to prevent incidents, and interview notes. Employers are expected to submit form 300a annually, while the rest are for record-keeping.
Step 7: Follow up on Recommendations
Employers are expected to follow up on the recommendations submitted in the report. These recommendations should include a timeline. You must state in your follow-up report if the scheduled actions have been completed and if the recommendations are working as intended.
In Conclusion…
Knowing what to do when a workplace injury occurs is necessary to ensure a healthy and safe working environment and a legally compliant business. It isn’t wise to leave workplace accident response procedures to chance, as your staff’s quick response could end up saving a life.
