What do you think of when you hear the phrase; accident at work? A builder falling from a great height on a construction site, or maybe a factory worker being hurt by the heavy machinery they are using? Maybe it is human nature to think of the worst case scenarios when we hear that simple word – accident.
However, while these, and accidents of a similar nature do happen, the majority of accidents in the work place are something that can happen to anyone. You do not have to work on busy construction sites, at heights, or with dangerous machinery to sustain injury – in fact safeworkers.co.uk report that a third of all accidents in the work place occur from simple slips and falls, and this is something that can happen no matter what environment you work in.
Whilst the injuries sustained from a slip or fall do not seem as immediate and serious as, say, a fall from a height, they can still lead to long term problems which many people will be unaware of. For example, according to Wikipedia.org, a fractured hip, which is one of many possible injuries from a slip and fall, and the resulting treatment and surgery, increases the risk of medical illness such as heart attacks, strokes, infections and blood clots. Also, fractures which are not immediately identified and remedied, can result in a reduced quality of life in a person’s later years; restricting mobility and causing severe pain. Suddenly, the implications of an accident that is often seen as minor, and even funny to some people, become all too serious. In actual fact, the very nature of an accident from tripping or slipping will cause many people to keep quiet about it.
Surely it’s a person’s own fault if they trip? People have to take responsibility for their own clumsy behaviour.
Indeed, there is a lot of truth in that, but if a person is told to navigate potentially hazardous paths (such as a wet surface or one cluttered with objects) then they are being put in harm’s way by an employer that should know better. And, in today’s uncertain times, how many would be willing to raise their concerns to their employers that what is being asked of them is unsafe?
The harsh reality is that jobs are difficult to come by in our current climate and people are increasingly going above and beyond what can be expected of them simply to stay in employment, and because of this so called minor injuries could be over looked or completely ignored by the employee. This could, however, spell trouble for their health in, not only the short term, but further down the road as well and critically, if it has happened to one person, chances are it will happen again until the hazard is identified and removed.
This is why, whilst a person should indeed be responsible for watching where they are going, they also have a responsibility to themselves and to others to highlight any accidents caused to them which were out of their control, both for their own health and that of their colleagues.
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