Oklahoma workers face risks on the job whether they work in offices, factories or at construction sites. To keep them safe, employers need to evaluate the physical risks at their work sites. They should also consider whether the work culture is making a work site less safe and determine whether employees are following all of the relevant safety guidelines.
The physical risks at a work site are the hazards that are for the most part easy to see. Workers at a construction site might be at risk of falling or being struck by falling objects, and factory employees might be at risk of sustaining repetitive motion injuries or coming into contact with toxic substances. An office is not a risk-free environment, and office workers can be seriously injured in slip-and-fall accidents if their work area is cluttered.
An unsafe work culture is harder to see, but it could put workers in very risky situations. For example, a workplace where employees are not trained before they are required to operate machines could put everyone in danger. Another example of an unsafe work culture is a work site where most of the employees are being allowed to ignore safety guidelines.
Serious accidents can occur when an employer does not make workplace safety a priority. People who have been injured on the job may be eligible to seek workers’ compensation benefits whether or not the injury was a result of an unsafe work culture. The preparation and filing of a claim can be confusing to some, and thus it may be advisable to have the assistance of an attorney throughout the process.