We had an accident in the office last week, and we didn’t have a trained person around to attend to the injured employee. It looks like there might be a lawsuit attacking our accident and injury preparedness. In any event, the incident brought up the issue of how much first-aid skill we need to have in the workplace on a daily basis. Do we have to have first-aid specialists on duty? What are our first-aid requirements? And, what liability do our workers have when they render first aid? —Carol P., HR Specialist in Carmel
First aid generally includes any one-time treatment and follow-up for observation of minor injuries, including cuts, abrasions, bruises, first-degree burns, sprains, and splinters. At most workplaces, injuries or illnesses requiring only first aid are commonplace. But more serious accidents can also occur, so you need to be prepared.
California has two separate sets of first-aid standards: detailed requirements for construction employers (Construction Safety Orders Section 1512) and less stringent general industry standards for all other types of business activity (General Industry Safety Orders Section 3400). The level of first-aid services you should maintain depends on the hazards normally present at your worksite. Both the law and good common sense require at least a basic readiness level.
General Industry
The general standards cover the following areas:
Emergency medical services. All employers must ensure that medical personnel are readily available for advice and consultation.
Personnel training. Virtually all employers must have personnel trained to provide first aid. Training must be equal to that given by the American Red Cross or the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration. The only exceptions are nonconstruction employers located near enough to an infirmary or clinic for first aid to be administered there. The regulations do not specify how many people in the workplace should be trained, but the number should be adequate to ensure that any employee needing first aid will be within close reach of a trained person.
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First-aid supplies. Employers must keep a suitable first-aid kit handy, maintain it in a sanitary and usable condition, inspect it frequently, and replenish supplies. An employer should ask a physician to recommend the necessary supplies for the kit.
Corrosive materials. In workplaces in which employees can be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, the employer must provide facilities for employees to immediately drench or flush their eyes and skin in emergencies.
Remote sites. Employers in isolated locations must arrange in advance for prompt medical attention in case of serious injuries. To avoid unnecessary delays in treatment, employers might be required to set up on-site facilities or procedures for emergency transportation.
Stretchers and blankets. If local ambulance service is not available (i.e., an ambulance cannot reach the workplace within 30 minutes), Cal/OSHA may require the employer to keep stretchers and blankets on-site for emergencies.
Construction Industry
The first-aid standards for the construction industry are similar to the general industry standards and contain the following additional provisions:
Emergency medical services. Individual construction employers are responsible for medical services, but contractors and subcontractors on the same site may devise a single combined arrangement for all employers on the project. An employer must have a written emergency medical services plan, which specifies how the employer complies with Section 1512’s requirements. One written plan is acceptable when employers form a combined arrangement.
Personnel training. If more than one employer is involved in a single construction project on a given construction site, the employers may form a pool of employees trained in first aid. The pool has to be large enough to serve the combined workforces of all affected employers.
First-aid supplies. The first-aid kit must be in a waterproof container and contain, at a minimum, adhesive dressings, adhesive tape, an eye dressing packet, sterile gauze and gauze pads of various sizes, pressure dressings, triangular bandages, safety pins, tweezers, scissors, and a first-aid manual. The kit’s contents must be arranged so they remain sanitary and can be found quickly. Dressings must be sterile in individually sealed packages. Unless a physician recommends otherwise, employers should not include drugs, antiseptics, eye irrigation solutions, inhalants, and medicines in the kit.
Stretchers and blankets. At least one basket, or equally appropriate stretcher equipped with straps, and two blankets or other warm covering must be provided for each building or structure of five or more floors, or 48 feet or more, either above or below ground level.
Emergency call systems. When construction employees work in buildings or structures of five or more floors, or 48 feet or more, either above or below ground level, their employers must have a two-way voice communication system so the person designated in the emergency medical services plan can be notified when an employee is injured.
Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
Besides the federal standards that govern first-aid procedures in the workplace, Cal/OSHA sets strict guidelines to prevent infection and disease from the transmission of bloodborne pathogens (General Industry Safety Orders Section 5193). Employers whose employees face the risk of bloodborne pathogen exposure must develop a written exposure control plan to eliminate or minimize this risk. The state’s general industry bloodborne pathogens regulation does not apply to the construction industry.
‘Good Samaritan’ Protection
As to Carol’s question about liability, two provisions in California law protect people who render help. First, a person who, in good faith, and not for compensation provides emergency care at the scene of an emergency is immune from civil liability for acts or omissions that he or she may have performed in giving this care.
Second, a person who has completed a basic American Red Cross or American Heart Association compliant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course, and who, in good faith, administers CPR at an emergency scene, cannot be held liable for civil damages because of any act or omission in providing that care, except for grossly negligent conduct.
—CELA Editors