The 3 Best Ways To Not Get Injured At Work
Although you would qualify for worker’s compensation if you were to be injured at work because your employer is responsible, it is best to avoid getting injured. Nobody wants to be laid up and potentially even have an injury that affects their quality of life.
Even having to get a lawyer or go to court to deal with these injuries is not ideal. Not to mention that you have to prove it was your company’s negligence that caused your injury. Learn more about how to prove your case if you feel this is what happened to you.
The best bet is to try to avoid getting injured, to begin with. Even companies that are doing their best to keep their employees safe make mistakes so you should be on the lookout for factors that could cause an injury.
1 – Wear protective gear correctly
If you work in a facility where there are a lot of machines, or there could be dangerous chemicals then you were certainly given protective gear to wear. This gear is meant to protect you from all kinds of hazards, yet, many people don’t like wearing certain items.
It could be a helmet, gloves, or even eye protection that seems to be annoying to some. However uncomfortable these things might be, they are there for your protection and should be worn at all times and in the correct way.
For instance, if you are wearing gloves that are not fastened properly and are operating machinery, there is a big possibility that the glove or other clothing could get pulled into the machine and cause a serious accident.
Boots that are not properly tied can cause a fall. There are a lot of examples, but they all point to PPE being essential to stay safe on the job.
2 – Don’t force yourself
When you try to use brute force to do something, it can have disastrous consequences. For instance, if you’re trying to lift something heavy, you may be tempted to do it alone but not asking for help is risking a major back injury.
The same holds true when trying to use a machine that is being overburdened. Instead of trying to force it, you should back off as it could cause an injury.
The idea is that when you try to simply push through a situation that is not working out, the risk of injury is simply too high to proceed.
3 – Create a safe work area
Think of safety as you would hygiene. If your work area is not clean then there is more chance of an injury. For example, if you drive your car for a living and there is a lot of garbage underfoot then you could cause an accident because your brake was blocked.
Or, if you have a lot of dust building up in your machinery it could cause a fire. The better able you take care to tidy up your workstation the less likely an accident can happen.