Serious Accidents Require Serious Action: Be Prepared!

Tuesday, September 04, 2012 3:00 AM
by Chris Kilbourne

Serious workplace accidents raise serious issues for safety professionals. There may be both legal and human factors to consider. You have to take a proper, level-headed approach and make sure you do all the right things to make things right.

If an accident occurs in your workplace, especially a serious one, many people in your organization will have a lot on their minds. In all of the potentially chaos in this scenario, it is important to remember the "human factor" and treat employees and others with respect and understanding.
Here are some tips for handling human factors:

• Consider contractual arrangements with vendors for post-emergency services such as temporary staffing, equipment replacing or repair, records preservation, cleanup, or engineering.
• Determine critical business functions and make plans for restoring them, either on-site or at an alternate facility/headquarters.
• Provide employees with updates and advise them of potential follow-up investigations by OSHA, police, insurance investigators etc.
• Don't forget the survivors "after the dust settles." Communication, Employee Assistance Programs, and counseling are critical.
• Avoid blaming individuals.
• Provide information and reassurance throughout the process but don’t make empty promises.
• Understand that compassionate contact with family of victim(s) family is essential, but don't admit liability.

Legal Aftermath of Fatal Accidents

Should a fatal accident occur in your workplace, you will benefit from knowing your legal rights ahead of time. According to Adele L. Abrams, Esq., who was featured in yesterday's Advisor, these rights include:

• The right not to speak to the police or to OSHA representatives at all
• The right to have a representative of your own choosing present if you voluntarily decide to give a statement
• The right not to give a statement, in the absence of a subpoena or deposition notice
• The right not to sign a statement by OSHA, another government agency, or the police

Do's and Don'ts

Abrams also suggests that you remember these important do's and don't following a fatal workplace accident.
Do:

• Know the rules and think in terms of affirmative defenses; lay the groundwork.
• Take comparative samples.
• Try to get workers' consent to be present during interviews (or get copies of their statements), but avoid coercion.
• Write down inspectors' statements.
• Replicate drawings, measurements, and photos.

Don't:

• Don't leave the government investigators unaccompanied at the worksite.
• Don't lie.
• Don't admit knowledge of violations.
• Don't perform demonstrations for the compliance safety and health officer.
• Don't tell workers not to talk to federal investigators (it is their choice whether to give a statement, and whether that will be private).
• Don't agree that a violation exists.
• Don't provide non-statutorily required documents.
• Don't guess or speculate.