Responding to an Accident: OSHA and Legal Liabilities
A terrible accident has occurred at your worksite. An employee operating a forklift made an errant turn, crashed into a support beam, and sustained serious injuries. Workplace accidents create complex interaction of legal liabilities relating to worker’s compensation (if your employee was injured), OSHA (applicable to any worker onsite), tort law (particularly if a non-employee was injured), contract law, and criminal law. Employers must identify their legal duties and take appropriate steps to ensure they have a safe workplace going forward. This article provides a primer on how to protect employees, address legal liabilities, and respond to a workplace accident. 1. Summoning Emergency Responders The employer’s first duty is to protect the safety and health of anyone at its worksite, including those involved in the accident . This may require the employer to contact emergency services, immediately investigate the facts of the accident, and provide ...