10
|
P a g e
It is also necessary to distinguish between the direct and the indirect costs of an
accident (see below). It has been estimated that indirect costs account for as much as
four times the direct costs.
We will look now to see just what factors affect the direct and indirect costs of industrial
accidents. But first it is necessary to broadly classify the types of accident that can occur.
There are four main classes of accident:
1.
Those that cause no damage to property or injury to people;
2.
Those that cause damage to material, plant or equipment but do not injure
personnel;
3.
Those that cause injury to personnel but do not damage property;
4.
Those that cause both injury to people and damage to material, plant and
equipment.
The cost of an accident can be divided into two parts:
1.
Direct costs, which include insurance claims, sick pay, loss of production, repairs,
product loss or damage, public liability, damage to equipment, buildings, etc.
2.
The indirect costs include business interruption, product liability, loss of orders,
cost of time spent on investigations, legal fees, loss of corporate image.
In addition to which we must not forget the cost of suffering that those injured may
endure and the stress for their families, together with the psychological effect on other
workers.
Legal Arguments for Maintaining Good Standards of Health & Safety
The employer's duty of care and the rights and expectations of employees
Duty of care: Duties of care are established wherever a legal relationship exists between
the parties involved. It is the legal relationship which establishes the relevant duty of
care. For example:
The master-servant (or employer-employee) relationship
The manufacturer/supplier-customer relationship
The occupier-visitor relationship
Often, statutory obligations are imposed in addition to, or instead of, the common law
duty of care.
