Workplace-related injuries have been increasing in California over the years. This is mostly attributed to working in a dangerous environment. Surprisingly, most of these unsafe working practices can be prevented. The main reasons they remain unattended is because of poor management or failure by workers to adequately and promptly report hazards.
Working in a dangerous environment threatens your health and the safety of those around you. Recognizing signs of an unsafe working environment will help you not tolerate the practice and take necessary steps to mask yourself and others from the risks. If you or a loved one has been injured in a workplace accident, our skilled and Spanish-speaking team at Setareh Law may help you recover compensation from your employer’s workers’ compensation coverage.
Top 5 Signs You Might Be Working in a Dangerous Environment
Are you suspecting that your current work environment is unsafe? Look for these telltale signs and take the necessary steps to protect yourself.
1. Overworking
If employees are overworked for longer hours than is legal, it can become dangerous for them and those around them. This is especially true in work environments that involve operating heavy machinery and equipment, like construction or trucking.
Overworking staff causes fatigue, stress, and an inability to focus because of reduced cognitive performance. For instance, fatigued truck drivers cause a significant number of truck accidents because they become less aware of their current situation. In such a case, the trucking company may be liable for the accident if they are found to have set strict deadlines for drivers, causing them to drive more than the allowed number of hours per day.
2. Untrained or Undertrained Employees
If your employer is adding new workers with no training or minimal experience in their work scope, it may be a sign of a dangerous working environment. Though there is some work that a new employer can learn on the job, this strategy may not be safe where machinery and hazardous products are involved. For example, it’s wrong to bring a person to operate a construction site machinery without adequate training and supervision.
3. Disregard of or Lack of Rules
Safety rules and procedures should be a priority in every working environment. If there are no rules or unexplained disregard of safety measures in your current workplace, there might be a looming danger.
Employers should provide an easily accessible workplace safety handbook detailing all the rules for managing the operation of machinery, equipment, electricity, and dealing with dangerous industrial substances. Employees should also be provided with adequate protective gear to protect them from known hazards. Failure to have rules may lead to illnesses, injury, or even death.
4. Lack of Safety Signs and Labels
Every company or employer is legally responsible for keeping their premises safe from known hazards. This includes having “Danger” or “Warning” signs and labels in places where risks of injury exist. For example, a “High Voltage” warning sign should warn operators and visitors where high voltage power lines are. Failure to adequately use safety signs and labels render the place dangerous to unsuspecting workers and visitors.
5. Poor Maintenance of Equipment
Technology and machinery make work easier for factories and workers. However, the same can pose an untold danger if enough care isn’t taken to keep the machinery well-maintained. Every workplace with machinery should have frequently scheduled maintenance to avoid any risks of undetected malfunctions. If you’re currently working where the company waits until the machine breaks down to schedule a repair, it’s a sign that this is a dangerous working environment.
Talk to Experienced California Injury Lawyers Today
Have you been injured in a workplace-related accident? We know how hard it can be to deal with this unforeseen situation. Our personal injury lawyers can help you in an array of cases, including slip-and-fall accidents, truck accidents caused by negligent trucking companies, wrongful death, or any other personal injury sustained because someone else breached the duty of care owed to you.
At Setareh Law, we aim to help clients recover from their injuries seamlessly without the stress of dealing with crafty insurance companies on their own. We take every case as our own and represent you as we would a family member. That is why we charge legal fees based on a contingency-based agreement. Call us at (310) 659-1826 or contact us to learn more.