Scissor lifts and associated dangers

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a hazard alert regarding scissor lift safety that employees in South Carolina may want to bear in mind. OSHA warns that a number of workers who were involved in a variety of unrelated incidents have suffered injury or death when working with or in the vicinity of scissor lifts.

The OSHA alert suggests that many of the incidents may have been preventable if employers had provided more training regarding the hazards of the equipment to their employees. Scissor lift safety tips concerning the availability of fall protection, stabilization and positioning are provided that could ultimately help workers avoid dangers on the jobsite such as falls, crushing hazards, electrocution and thermal burns.

Only workers who are trained to use a scissor lift correctly and can demonstrate safe operation of the lift should do so. Proper maintenance of the equipment, adherence to the manufacturer’s instructions, provision of personal protective equipment and training as well as the implementation of safe practices in the workplace fall under the umbrella of safe scissor lift use. In addition, employers need to identify the potential hazards on the job site in order to select equipment that is best suited for each task.

The preventable injuries and fatalities that OSHA investigated over a one-year period indicate that more needs to be done to prevent serious workplace injuries around the country. Employees who have been harmed in an accident involving this type of a equipment may want to meet with an attorney to see if filing a workers’ compensation claim would be advisable.