Manufacturing can be a dangerous business. Even if your company follows all of the safety protocols, there’s still a chance that your employees could get hurt on a regular basis. Between the overuse-style injuries, like arm or leg ligament tears, and the accidental ones, such as a broken leg caused by slipping on a wet floor, there are plenty of prime opportunities for injury. As an employer, you don’t want to get caught without workers’ compensation insurance. Otherwise, you could be stuck paying for your employees’ on-the-job injuries right out of your company’s pocket.
Want to make sure you’re carrying the coverage you need? Here’s what you need to know about workers’ compensation insurance in the manufacturing industry.
Adhering to Safety Standards
Businesses that make goods tend to have a lot of safety standards to follow. They need to have plenty of signage in place to remind employees to put on their safety vests and hard hats in certain areas, as well as signs that warn them about things like slick floors due to a byproduct of the manufacturing process. On top of this, there are warnings and instructions on the machines that are used, helping workers avoid getting sleeves and pants legs stuck in conveyor belts or worse. However, even with all of these safety precautions put into place, accidents still happen.
Human Error and Accidents
It can take just a split second for an employee to disregard safety protocols and get hurt. For example, let’s say that they were told to turn off the injection molding machine before reaching into it to get out a stuck piece of plastic. Rather than do this, thinking they can save time, the employee reaches in right as the machine deploys and severely injures their hand and arm. This is just one example of human error playing a role in workplace incidents.
Others are just plain accidents, like closing the hood of a machine too quickly and injuring their back or grabbing a handrail as they slip and fall, leading to a spiral fracture of the arm. If the injury happened at work, it could fall under the purview of workers’ compensation, which is a type of insurance that your manufacturing center should definitely have in place.
Where Workers’ Compensation Comes Into Play
When an employee is hurt on the job, they usually end up in the doctor’s office. Whether they fell and injured themselves or had a mishap with a machine or conveyor, the injury requires more than just a bandage. Who’s going to pay for the medical treatments needed? What about the wages that the employee will lose while they’re out on sick leave? This is where workers’ compensation insurance kicks in. Once the accident has been investigated, the employee will more than likely have your company’s insurance pay for all of these things.
Have Questions? Contact Charlotte Insurance
Want to learn more about the importance of having worker’s compensation plans in place for your manufacturing plant? Contact Charlotte Insurance. Our knowledgeable agents can explore and explain all available options and put together the insurance coverage plan your business needs.