Can Your Business Afford An "Accident"?
Let’s face it, accidents happen. They happen at home and they happen at work. People make mistakes, get distracted or just don’t pay attention and accidents happen, it is human nature. Sometimes the accidents are small and harmless and other times they are serious and costly.
Last month, a twelve year old Florida girl was seriously injured after falling 100 feet from the amusement park ride Terminal Velocity at Extreme World in Lake Denton, Wisconsin. Recently, the employee, who was working the ride when the accident happened, was charged by local prosecutors with one count of first degree reckless injury, because he claimed he “blanked out.” He said he never got the all clear signal from the employees on the ground before letting the girl drop.
This accident is costly in many ways. The employee is charged with a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison and a $100,000 in fines. The employer is dealing with negative publicity, lost revenues due to the ride's closure, and most likely looking at some type of lawsuit, although liability maybe limited due to various disclaimers which appear on the ticket stubs. And of course, the family is dealing with the injuries received by their young daughter, who may or may not be left paralyzed from the fall.
Can all accidents be avoided? No. But, you can do your best to prevent them and limit the affect on your business.
I’m sure I sound like a broken record, but I can’t stress the importance enough - train your employees. Conduct refresher training periodically, especially when it involves safety issues, because you can never be too careful. Make sure employees know their job duties, especially when specific steps have to be done in a particular order. Talk to your employees, get their input on the kinds of training they would like or would find helpful. Ask the employees if they understand their job duties. The goal is to prevent an accident from harming your business.
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