South Carolina Personal Injury & Workers' Compensation Law Blog

Construction employers in South Carolina are likely aware that falls from elevated surfaces are a frequent cause of injury in this field. Over the past five years, Nationwide Insurance has processed over 10,000 workers' compensation claims among construction companies, and 30 percent of them involved falls.

This was part of the reason why Nationwide joined several other organizations in supporting the OSHA Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. From May 7 to 11, construction companies across the U.S. shut down operations in order to train employees and raise their awareness of hazards in the workplace. Nationwide has stated that these stand-downs can be a great way for employers to show workers that their safety matters. It can also help ease workers into ongoing safety training.

With tight deadlines and a fast-paced work environment, employers may find it hard to enforce safety guidelines here in South Carolina. This can mean an increase in worker injuries, higher workers' compensation costs, higher medical expenses and a decrease in productivity. If employers show little concern about worker safety, employee morale can decline and the company can become less desirable in the eyes of new job seekers.

Even everyday actions can open up workers to a variety of safety hazards, so employers, site managers and safety coaches should be wondering how to improve their work environment. This is where the following five tips can come in handy. The first step is for those in leadership positions to champion a safety-minded culture. Once this is clear, they should distribute anonymous surveys to their employees to determine what they know of corporate safety policies, what they think is expected of them and what their idea is of their own responsibilities.

Drivers in South Carolina often worry about the dangers that they could face when they get behind the wheel. A new project, called the Road to Zero Coalition, has been formed in order to make driving a safer proposition by achieving a dramatic reduction in traffic fatalities. Over 100 people die across the United States on the roadways every day, and car and truck accident deaths are preventable.

The transportation safety coalition includes 675 members, including trucking companies, associations, suppliers and others. It emphasizes that leadership, investment and technology can work together to improve roadway safety and prevent truck accidents. In a report released in April 2018, the grop laid out a roadmap toward safer roadways by 2050, set as the target goal to achieve zero traffic fatalities.

For the fifth year in a row, OSHA is hosting its National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. Together with NIOSH and the Center for Construction Research and Training, OSHA encourages all employers in the construction industry to shut down operations at some point between May 7 and May 11 and address whatever factors put their workers at risk for falls. This is important since in South Carolina, as elsewhere in the U.S., falls are the leading cause of death in the industry.

According to NIOSH, one-third of construction fatalities are caused by falls. By participating in the fifth annual stand-down, however, employers and their workers can work toward reducing the number through focus sessions. There is no right method for conducting the event as employers should be able to adapt the stand-down to their particular work environments. However, training is one possibly essential component. Employers could also hold demonstrations, play videos and give toolbox talks.