February 28, 2023

Ladder placement and defensive driving

As a service to our policyholders, Texas Mutual shares serious workplace injury trends based on catastrophic injuries and fatalities reported to our claims department. Not all of these reported injuries are covered by workers’ compensation, but our goal is to help you ensure these types of incidents do not happen in your workplace. Find safety tips below to help keep your employees safe on the job.

If you have questions, we encourage you to contact our safety services support center at 844-WORKSAFE (967-5723) or safety@texasmutual.com.

In this alert:

• Ladder placement
• Defensive driving

Ladder placement

Over the past two months, at least eight employees have been seriously or fatally injured after suffering a fall from a ladder. Fifty percent of these incidents occurred in the construction industry and the other half involved employees in food service, maintenance, temporary help service and mining.

All employees who utilize a ladder must be trained on inspections, proper setup and correct usage. After selecting a suitable ladder in good condition, it’s crucial to set up the ladder on a solid foundation.

• Avoid working in wet or windy conditions, which could compromise the stability of the ladder.
• If you must place the ladder in a high-traffic area, utilize barriers to redirect equipment and other employees.
• If you must place the ladder in a doorway, block off the door.
• Locate ground or flooring that is dry, firm and level for ladder placement.
• Ensure the footpads are secure and the ladder is firmly locked before climbing.

Defensive driving

An employee was driving to a job site when they were cut off by a smaller vehicle. The employee attempted to avoid a collision, but their truck jackknifed and rolled off the roadway. In another incident, an employee was driving with a heavy load when another vehicle merged into their lane, causing a collision.

While it’s impossible to control other drivers’ behavior, defensive driving techniques can help you anticipate hazards and avoid crashes.

• Prepare to drive distraction-free by finishing calls or texts, setting navigation and music and securing any loose items before moving.
• Ensure that other drivers can see you by turning your headlights on.
• Provide other drivers warning of your actions by using your turn signals, braking early and honking when alerts are warranted.
• Scan the surrounding area for potential new hazards and be ready to respond by braking or changing lanes, if necessary.

Get free safety resources

Texas Mutual policyholders have access to thousands of free training materials in our multimedia safety resource center, including our safety catalog with up-to-date resources.

To access the free materials, log in to your texasmutual.com account and select Safety. If you need help accessing the safety resource center or you have a workplace safety question, call us toll-free at 844-WORKSAFE (967-5723).

Download a PDF (1.1MB) version of the February Safety Alert.