According to the Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania, falling on ice or snow, straining muscles by shoveling snow or scraping ice, and motor vehicle collisions are among the top winter-related injuries.
Your employees and visitors are both potential sources of injury claims, so take special efforts to prevent hazardous situations.
Slips and falls can have serious consequences, ranging from broken bones to neck and spinal cord injuries, and tens of thousands of people are injured annually in weather-related vehicle collisions, including during business travel. If your company routinely clears walkways in front of your establishment after snow or ice storms, you may improve safety for visitors and passers-by, but you open employees up to musculoskeletal injuries from the effort.
What safety training or tools do you have in place to help employees identify and avoid these and other cold weather hazards? Do you have a plan in place to protect your business’s visitors? Is your management prepared to offer training as needed to avoid injury?
Both your workers compensation and commercial general liability insurance policies can help your company should an accident happen, but a solid injury-prevention plan is the best measure you can take. It also might be worth your money to hire a snow/ice removal company to add a layer of protection against injury.
