Free case evaluation

Ohio BWC chief offers safety comments during National Safety Month

Workplace accidents and injuries are simply a fact of life on construction sites, in factories, on roadwork crews and in a number of work environments. Some companies simply have demonstrated safety records that underscore a lack of focus on or even due care concerning dangerous conditions or safety violations. Others admittedly do work very hard to increase workplace safety, but, notwithstanding their efforts, no work environment can ever be made totally free of risk and injury.

Workers’ compensation and safety-agency experts know that, and thus routinely employ a combination of carrots and sticks to promote worker safety. The Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation (OBWC) recently announced a series of grants, for example, to be provided to a number of Ohio employers implementing safety-enhancing processes and procedures. State officials frequently embark on safety campaigns and initiatives. As we have chronicled in past blog posts, inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) often conduct summary inspections of companies and issue citations and fines for safety breaches.

Steve Buehrer, CEO of the OBWC, recently promoted an educative initiative aimed at minimizing on-the-job injuries, as part of National Safety Month in June. Most specifically, OBWC officials have been offering up a number of tips — most simple and commonsensical — that they say will greatly decrease lost-time injury claims in Ohio.

“Attentive employers can make a few minor changes at minimal cost that can significantly increase safety in the workplace … and lower workers’ compensation premiums,” Buehrer said in a news release.

The OBWC states that more than 60 percent of all injury claims and costs relate to a few preventable causes, mostly slip and fall incidents and overexertion. The agency lists a number of preventative measures employers can take to reduce such accidents and injuries on its website.

Source: New Philadelphia Times Reporter, “Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation offers solutions to prevent workplace injuries,” L.B. Blackwell, June 29, 2012