Contra Costa County and Tri-Valley Workers' Compensation Blog

Studies have found that a significant number of workplace injuries in California and elsewhere involve new employees. One such a study concluded that the risk of occupational injuries for new workers within their first month on the job is three times higher than for those who have more than 12 months of service. Sadly, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, most workplace injuries that lead to workers' compensation claims are preventable.

Safety authorities urge employers to protect the health and safety of new employees by providing adequate training, regardless of whether the new worker has previous experience at another company. Job site-specific safety training is crucial for all new employees. Establishing mentoring programs that assign new workers to experienced employees can prevent many injuries. However, if the mentors are not responsible and violate safety standards and take shortcuts, the program can do more harm than good.

Employers in California must protect their workers from harm. The responsibility includes informing employees of the work-related hazards they might encounter, and safety training on how to mitigate the dangers they face. It applies to all workers, regardless of whether they work on or off-site. This is to prevent workplace accidents, and although workers' compensation benefits can provide financial assistance to injured employees or the surviving family members of deceased workers, it could never replace lost lives.

In the early morning of a recent Wednesday, police officers responded to a scene of a work-related accident was reported. This industrial accident occurred at the headquarters of a waste management company. Reportedly, a worker was struck and killed by a loader that was backing up. Authorities say the operator of the loader could not see the worker on the ground.

During the recent National Forklift Safety Day, safety authorities nationwide urged employers in California and other states to review their safety programs and modify them where necessary. Many workers' compensation claims involve workers who were on foot when they were injured in forklift accidents. For this reason, safety training for pedestrians in manufacturing facilities, warehouses and fulfillment or distribution centers is crucial.

Forklift operators have to deal with blind spots and other issues that can block their vision while they lift and haul products in areas where workers move about on foot. As examples of typical forklift vs. pedestrian accidents, authorities used a case in which a forklift crushed a punch press operator in a computer components manufacturing plant. Reportedly, her workstation was too close to the path traveled by the forklift. The operator of the machine struck a bin filled with metal scrap adjacent to the woman's workstation while backing up, causing the bin to push the press up against the worker.

Safety authorities in California and other states will use the third week in June to focus on trench safety. A significant number of workers' compensation claims each year result from excavation-related injuries and fatalities. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration notes that cave-ins can be prevented.

Construction workers will benefit from learning about safety standards that could keep them protected. The one who is responsible for safe trenches on any construction site is the appointed competent person. His or her duties involve inspecting trenches each day before workers enter them because overnight weather conditions could compromise the stability of excavation walls. This person must be able to identify dangerous conditions and potential developing risks, and have the authority to take corrective steps to mitigate them.