Accidents at Work: Cautionary Tales!

If you run a business and you’re wondering where you can cut back on your overheads, the last thing that you should consider scrimping on is the relevant business insurance policies. While you may not think that you need the insurance, and you may think that you can get by without it, you can never be too sure. All it would take is for one of your employees to come a cropper at work and you could be facing a compensation claim in no time. Without necessary insurance cover you will be alone, dealing with legal action and, in the case of many businesses, won’t have the funds to pay the compensation if you lost the case.

You should find out more about liability insurance as soon as you look into starting a business, to check whether it will prove to be a valuable commodity for your business and the services you provide. If you work with the public, or deal with clients, you need to make sure that you have liability insurance in place. And, as an employer, it’s a legal requirement to be insured as soon as you hire your first member of staff. Head online to find out about the different types of business insurance and how to get a liability insurance quote as soon as you can.

All seriousness aside, there have been some incredible accidents in the workplace in the past which could have easily led to claims for compensation. Amazingly, a lot of these accidents have ironically happened in places where they shouldn’t have, such as the Department of Health and Safety, where accidents shouldn’t be happening at all! Here are some recent accident and injury reports, some of which are bizarre — others are understandable — but most are avoidable!

• A man managed to cut his eye on a piece of paper — that’s a paper cut everyone could do without!
• Putting two fingers into a fan and wondering why they came out damaged.
• Toilet roll holders falling off bathroom walls and injuring the person who was minding their own business in there at the time.
• Tripping over Caution: Wet Floor signs — it happens a lot!
• Spilling hot drinks — an issue that may rise over the winter months when we need a little extra warmth in our bellies!
• Walking into boxes and permanent pieces of furniture
• Muscular pain and discomfort due to sitting in the line of a cold draught — one of the major reasons why any draughts should be sealed, especially during the cold months.
• Being struck by lightning — amazingly, this happened to a PE teacher whilst IN the classroom.
• Flying bouncy castles — yes, this happened too. In 2006, a bouncy castle came loose and flew into the air, with 30 people still stuck inside it.

It just goes to show that accidents, however bizarre, do happen! As a business, you have to be prepared for any of these eventualities and more, so make sure that you invest in any of the relevant business insurance policies that suit your business needs.

This article was written by Roxanne Wells, on behalf of Hiscox.