While there's no way to completely eliminate the risk of a workplace accident, the majority of accidents at work are preventable.

One of the biggest problems is opportunity. With longer hours and longer work weeks, people are spending a great deal of time at their workplaces. In fact, some people find that they spend more hours at work than they do at home. Of course, the longer a worker is there, the more chance there is of an accident taking place. That said, there are several things workers can do to greatly lessen their safety risk and help prevent workplace accidents.

1. Use Common Sense
   One of the most important things a person can do to help avoid suffering a workplace injury is to use their common sense at all times, in all tasks. While this may sound rather insensitive to those that have been involved in a workplace accident, most accidents occur after a person becomes too comfortable with their surroundings and job tasks and stops thinking about or fully focusing on what they’re actually doing. This can be as simple as just taking the layout of a workplace for granted. For example, a worker that walks the same clear path from here to there may never stop to think about slipping and falling from a spill, or misplaced item. Common sense, however, should tell a person to stay aware of their surroundings, even though familiar.


2. Keep Work Areas Clean
   Workplace injuries impact your employer’s financial bottom line in more ways than one, meaning that everyone could feel the resultant cutbacks caused by workplace accidents. Furthermore, just as you don’t want to be the victim of an accident caused by a co-worker; your co-workers don’t want to suffer an accident because of your actions or inaction. If you see or create a mess, then try to alert other workers about any hazards it might cause and clean it up immediately.


3. Observe and Report
   Most workplace safety programs will include a safety officer or accident log for employees to report any potential dangers and report any incidents. Remember to report even the accidents that seem trivial since it might not be so trivial the next time it occurs under potentially different circumstances.

In closing, the physical and financial suffering following workplace accidents can be significant for everyone involved. Prevention is the key! But in cases where an accident has occurred, it’s important that the person consulting with a personal injury attorney to make sure that they are treated fairly and are properly compensated for their injuries.