The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the primary federal regulator that oversees federal work safety standards. OSHA is the agency that investigates and fines companies that don’t follow these standards, especially if a worker is injured due to the company’s failure to adhere to the safety regulations. In furtherance of those goals, OSHA also releases guidelines and videos to assist companies and workers in adopting best practices for safety. This post will go over OSHA’s recommendation on what you should do if you notice a dangerous condition or are injured at work.
First, if you are injured, you should immediately seek medical attention. Only until after you are cleared by a doctor, should you proceed with any other task?
After you get medical help, you should notify your employer of the dangerous condition. Specifically, tell your employer what led to your injury and how. It is critical that someone take control of the situation to ensure that no one else is injured.
Third, file your workers’ compensation claim as soon as possible. Your employer should provide you with the information.
Finally, if you warned your employer of the danger beforehand and refused to do anything about it, you should contact OSHA. OSHA will investigate the accident and what your employer did to prevent it. If the investigator determines that your employer’s actions were insufficient, they may be subjected to a fine.
Did you suffer a severe on the job injury due to dangerous equipment? If you did, you might want to go over your rights to compensation with an attorney. Workers’ compensation was designed to speed up the process to get money in your pocket, but the reality is that many claims are denied. It is better to have a lawyer on your side from the beginning to ensure that you can quickly appeal their decision.
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