Preventing Personal Injury Claims in the Workplace

Carry Out Regular Inspections/Risk Assessments

Many accidents are caused by inadequate thought given to the workplace. At least once a month you should review all of your premises and look for hazards that could cause an accident. Are there wires or leads that are not properly covered? Could someone trip over them leading to a personal injury claim against your business? Is there unnecessary packaging left around which could cause someone to trip? Do you provide adequate clothing, seating, heating and all other necessary equipment to ensure your employees can carry out their duties?

Review thoroughly and consider carefully the implications of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (Management Regulations) which specifies the need to identify all hazards that could cause personal injury to your staff or members of the public.

Document Procedures

If a personal injury claim is made against you you need to be able to demonstrate that you had in place adequate inspection procedures, as mentioned above, but also that you had procedures in place to follow if any event occurred which could lead to an accident. Procedures you should have in place include one to deal with any spillages (eg do not leave the area of the spillage until another colleague attends, detail how the clean up should take place, and ensure the procedure includes placing a sign at the scene of the spillage warning of the wet area).

Do you have procedures in place to ensure that any packaging removed from goods received is placed in special containers and not left lying around? If you have salesmen driving across the country, have to advised them to take rest breaks to avoid car accidents?

Document Training

If you provide your employees with training on health and safety in the workplace ensure that they sign to confirm they have received the training and the date it is provided. If the training relates to a particularly hazardous activity, ensure it is repeated at regular intervals, again documenting it on each occasion. Training must be given if your employees are required to lift heavy items.

Seek Professional Advice

The advice provided here is intended only as a guide and is not to be relied upon. For professional advice you will need to employ a Health and Safety inspector. We can provide you with details of one if you would like us to.

For further information regarding wpersonal injury claims, please visit our website.

Article Source: http://www.theukarticledirectory.co.uk