A severe injury can set you back on your career path or mean you never work the same job again. Whether you suffer a long-term disability or a short-term inability to work, any serious injury has the potential to affect you physically, emotionally and financially. To help avoid accidents, illnesses and injuries in the workplace, your employer should implement a Workplace Injury and Illness Prevention Program. Why is this so vital to your safety? Here are three reasons.
1. Accidents leave workers injured and unable to continue their jobs
The first reason that an injury prevention program should exist is to prevent harm from coming to anyone in the workplace, whether they’re employees or contractors. When a person is hurt at work, that individual is usually able to collect workers’ compensation, but the injury itself leaves a lasting impact. It could mean the employee never works in the industry again, changing his or her life goals completely.
2. Accidents are expensive to employees and employers
Accidents cost more than just money. They cause a loss of time and impact a business’s operations. Employees may lose their overall morale on the job, and lower efficiency could result. When the number of injuries rise, workers’ compensation premiums increase, too.
Employees also face financial and personal losses, although many receive medical payments and compensation for other expenses through workers’ compensation. These losses can include lost wages, travel expenses and medical costs.
3. Accidents result in investigations, fines and penalties
Sometimes, accidents result in investigations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). If OSHA discovers that an employer was negligent in providing a safe work environment, then it has the ability to issue fines and penalties against the business. These fines tend to be in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the severity of the accident.
While OSHA usually investigates workplace deaths, it may choose to investigate injuries in your workplace. Penalties against businesses with repeated safety violations grow, making it important to businesses to avoid any investigations when possible.
If you’re hurt on the job, you have a right to file for a workers’ compensation claim. This claim provides a number of benefits including the payment of medical bills associated with your condition. You may also be able to receive short- or long-term disability payments and compensation for your lost wages. An attorney in the Modesto area can help if you are struggling with your c laim.