Yesterday, we described a court case in which an employer’s training program saved the day in a legal wrangle over a workers’ comp claim. Today, we examine another case that turned largely on the effectiveness of a training program.
When a painting company got a contract to paint a highway bridge, scaffolds were suspended from the bridge. And because employees would be working 30 feet above the ground, use of fall protection in the form of a personal fall arrest system secured directly to the bridge was required and issued to each scaffold worker.
"Roger" was an experienced painter who had worked for the company for 12 years. Not only was he well trained in the use of the fall arrest system, he had also signed the company’s mission statement, which recognized and required safety procedures and employees’ obligation to follow them.
For some reason, however, Roger was not wearing the required PPE on the day he fell from the scaffold to his death.
When Roger’s executor sued the company for wrongful death, the company argued that if he had been wearing fall protection as required, he would not have died.
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The company went on to point out that it had an exemplary training program designed to protect workers from accidents.
It held mandatory safety sessions every Monday and shorter "toolbox" safety meetings on a daily basis. During those sessions, employees were specifically trained in the safe use of the personal fall arrest system and instructed that they were required to use this PPE.
Not only was the company’s training exemplary, it also had an exemplary safety record—15 years in business and never before an injury caused by a fall.
What the Court Said
The Ohio Court of Appeals denied the wrongful death claim, saying that the employer did all it could to prevent the accident. The court said that an employer cannot be held liable for an employee’s injury when it has taken measures that would have prevented the injury had they been followed. While the court was mindful of the tragic result in this accident, the justices >
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Do All You Can to Prevent Accidents
Effective safety training programs make the difference between safe and sound workers and accidents and injuries. It prevents tragedies like the one in the case just reviewed.
One great way to get employees engaged in safety training so that they learn and obey safe rules and procedures is to involve them in the study of a real accident case. Case study analysis is a highly effective form of safety training—in fact, one that OSHA itself recommends.
So if you’re looking for good, effective case study training, look no farther. BLR’s OSHA Accident Case Studies is the program for you.
Animated, customizable PowerPoint slides tell real-life case studies of actual industrial accidents from OSHA files, complete with accident photos to get workers’ attention and make your safety meetings come alive.
OSHA Accident Case Studies includes 25 meetings on all key safety topics.
Even your most skeptical workers will see what can go wrong and become safety-minded employees. They’ll learn valuable safety training lessons from real mistakes—but in classroom training meetings instead of on your shop floor.
Safety topics include:
- Back safety
- Power tools
- Hazard communication
- Lockout/tagout
- Fire safety
- Hearing protection
- Confined spaces
- Trenching and excavation
- HAZWOPER
- Ergonomics
- And more!
We’ll be happy to make OSHA Accident Case Studies available for a no-cost, no-obligation, 30-day evaluation in your office. Just let us know, and we’ll be pleased to arrange it.