Five Tips for Preventing Struck by Object Liability Claims

Five Tips for Preventing Struck by Object Liability Claims

If you’re familiar with your business insurance plan, you’ve probably examined its professional liability coverage to great extent. Between employee slip-and-fall injuries, construction site injuries, fleet accidents and more, there are a lot of situations which can result in financial trouble.

Many policyholders don’t give a certain workplace disaster factor enough attention, however: The Struck by Object claim.

Identifying the Struck by Object Claim

To better secure your business insurance policy’s worth—as well as your business’s security—you should learn how to protect customers, employees, contractors and yourself from Struck by Object cases. To do so, however, you’ll need to understand what they are.

Struck by Object is an injury category listed within the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This system determines liability claims when injuries happen at a place of work. Struck by Object occurs when an object strikes and injures an employee, worker or customer. If it’s the other way around—and the individual strikes the object and experiences an injury—this isn’t the case.

Struck by Object claims occur often. Between rolling, sliding and falling objects, a workplace can become a hazard. Because the Struck by Object claim has a wide classification, it’s important to safeguard your business against it. Check out the following tips.

Tip One: Secure Building Sites and Warehouses
Building sites and warehouses are high-risk environments. Because the items in these areas aren’t stationary, they’re more likely to move—and injure—individuals. As such, your business needs to maintain strict safety procedures.

Tip Two: Regulate Item Storage Spaces
Struck by Object claims can occur in offices and retail storefronts, too. For this reason, it’s important to regulate where your employees stow objects—heavy or not. Don’t stow packed stationary, books or computer equipment on high shelves, as a single misstep can cause them to fall and strike somebody.

Tip Three: Uphold Your Duty of Care
As an employer, you have a duty of care to your employees. This means you should create, and follow, your business’s health and hafety guidelines to protect your employees from environmental dangers. As part of your duty of care, use suitable safety training procedures.

Tip Four: Enforce Protective Clothing
Your employees should wear hard hats, work gloves and protective clothing if they’re working in dangerous environments. Protective clothing policies can drastically reduce workplace injury claims. If an object falls, slides or rolls into a worker—protective gear might make the difference between a simple mistake and a severe injury.

Tip Five: Maintain Fleet Safety
If your business has a vehicle fleet, make sure you maintain every vehicle. It’s also a good idea to enforce fleet safety protocols to keep your drivers safe. Struck by Object claims are still possible if a victim is in a vehicle—or even if they’re struck by one.

In any event, practice preventative safety. The best way to protect yourself from a Struck by Object claim is to reduce the likelihood of it in the first place. Before selecting your business insurance policy’s liability coverage, focus on your workplace’s safety—your employees, and customers, will thank you.