R&R Insurance Blog

Healthcare workers are frequently exposed to bloodborne pathogens. OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Administration together with NIOSH - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is continously working to educate employers and employees about these hazards and the best means of prevention.

A recent NIOSH-supported study shows how the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (NSPA) and OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens standard have significantly reduced needlesticks and bloodborne disease exposure for healthcare workers as recent as December 2011. OSHA's revised standard requires employers to provide safety-engineered devices to workers who are at risk for exposure to bloodborne pathogens, to include employees in the selection of these devices, to review exposure-control plans at least annually, and to maintain specific sharps-injury logs.

For more information about bloodborne pathogens and needlestick prevention, visit OSHA's Safety and Health Topics page . To request a review of your organization's bloodborne pathogen plan or other safety programs contact Maureen Joy with R&R Insurance's Resource Center.

Home healthcare workers can find themselves in unprotected and unpredictable environments and can be vulnerable to verbal abuse, stalking, threats of assault, and even homicide.

NIOSH -National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has published a new resource (PDF*) to assist employers in preventing violence against home healthcare workers. This factsheet offers strategies for workers and encourages employers to establish a zero-tolerance policy for violence and provide workers with violence-prevention training. OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Administration has guidelines for preventing workplace violence for health care and social service workers. For more information, visit OSHA's Workplace Violence or CDC/NIOSH’s Occupational Hazards in Home Healthcare sites.

Contact R&R Insurance - Resource Center if you would like to discuss this or other employee work place exposures

There are three common mistakes we find companies making when it comes to their accident investigation: Lack of training on why the accident investigation form is important; Poor accident investigation forms; and Lack of follow-through on valuable information gleaned from the accident investigation. This quick video explains these three common mistakes of accident investigation.

Poor Accident Investigation Forms.
Using accident investigation forms that concentrate too much on general HR information about the injured employee can waste valuable time during an investigation. Streamline your accident investigation forms to allow the supervisor to focus on how and why the employee was injured.

Lack of training on why the accident investigation form is important.
Understanding why an accident investigation form needs to be completed, how to conduct an accident investigation and understanding an organization's ultimate goal after an accident are essential elements that if not adhered to - can lead to poor results.

Lack of Follow-Through.
Often times great ideas spring from an undesirable circumstance. Accident investigation forms are there to capture the how and why of an accident and also corrective action steps the company can take to ensure it doesn't happen again. This is valuable information that should be shared with safety committees and multi-location staff to improve the overall safety of the organization. Don't overlook the follow-through on your great ideas!

For more information about accident investigation, one of our upcoming accident investigation seminars held in Waukesha, WI, or any other risk management concerns, please contact our knowledgebroker, John Brengosz.

R&R Insurance announces the date for the new Cyber Liability seminar, which will cover how a business can protect itself against cyber crime, will be Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 8:00am - 11:30am, held at the MRA conference Center in Waukesha, WI.

Companies receive an average of 4 million attacks against their networks on a daily basis. Sure, companies can employ the best IT talent around, but that’s no guarantee that your network won’t be compromised, or that your data won’t be breached. No system is 100% secure!

How can a business protect itself against a costly data breach or a business-halting compromise to their network?

Attend our free Cyber Liability Seminar. Learn this and a whole lot more...

Recent news about data breaches and losses sustained due to lack of insurance coverage for cyber crime:

UWM: 75,000 records breached!
Texas Spends $1.8 Million on Data Breach As Lawsuits Loom
WellPoint Fined $100k for Failing to Report Data Breach
Losing the War on IT Security
Sony Laid Off Employees Before Data Breach Lawsuit
RockYou Data Breach Lawsuit Moves Forward
Data breaches may lurk in office copiers and printers
Michael's Department Store Breach 4 Suspects Sought
Average cost of a corporate data breach is $7.2 million
Class slams Michaels for Data Breach

357 People Affected by Data Breach at North Carolina's Wake Forest Baptist
Nurse Accused of Accessing 2,500 Medical Records at Memorial Hospital in Colorado
Walgreens.com site exposed patients’ pharmacy records to other patients?
Hospital employee and three others accused of stealing patients’ identities
An unintended exposure leads to a mea culpa from an online psychiatry journal
Personal Info Stolen From Patients At DeKalb Medical
Drug, paternity test records exposed
Morgan Stanley loses 34k customer records on unencrypted CDs
Groupon loses 300,000 user details
SEGA hacked, records exposed
Eight million health records lost on NHS laptop

Having a structured return-to-work program has several benefits, the most important of which is the reduction of lost-time (lost-time has 3 times greater impact on your workers compensation premium dollars than a no-lost-time claim). Other benefits include having more control over the claim itself, better observation of the recovery process, and an overall better experience for the employee. As Mike Geldreich, Claims Management Specialist with R&R Insurance explains, an employer can benefit greatly by having a return-to-work program that lessens lost-time and gets the employee back to work as quickly as possible.

Return-to-work programs is just one of the topics of our information-packed morning dedicated to saving you money on your workers compensation premiums. Attend our next free Workers Compensation seminar to learn more about return-to-work programs and other aspects of workers compensation that can drastically reduce your overall workers compensation premium. More about what you'll learn...

R&R Insurance Services- Waukesha, WI
8:00am Registration and continental breakfast
8:30am-11:30am Program

Property owners and residents should be aware of the weight loads heavy storms may create, especially on flat roofs.

How to Protect Your Roof From Collapse
Schools, churches, office buildings, restaurants, casinos, gas stations commercial buildings and residential buildings - both homes and apartment buildings, as well as carports and awnings can be affected. Owners and residents of flat roof buildings in particular are urged to be aware of the possible snow load danger. Be aware that the threat from heavy snow weight will remain for some time after the storm ends because cold temperatures won’t allow much melting to occur.

Take the following precautions to protect life and property:

• Don’t put untrained individuals on roofs to clear snow. Falls from roofs and possible exposure to electrical wires while on the roof are serious hazards.
• Inspect roofs for leaks or structural deficiencies that may develop during the storm.
• Make certain gutters, drains and downspouts are clear of ice and debris.
• Clear snow and ice away from exhaust vents that go through exterior walls.
• Clear decks of snow to reduce stress on them.
• Watch for falling snow and ice from roofs.

After the storm:

• Clear areas around downspouts so that water from melting snow has a path to flow away from the house or building.
• Remove snow from side walls to prevent high snow mounds from pushing them in.
• Temporarily shore up and brace dipping or sagging roofs or walls.
• Improper operation of doors or windows, deflection of ceiling finishes or exposed beams, roof leaks or sprinkler heads moved from their normal positions could be signs of roof failure.

If you have suffered storm damage to your property, make sure that there is no danger to anyone nearby, and then contact your insurance agent immediately. Wisconsin residents and businesses can contact a knowledge broker at 800-566-7007 for details on how to protect and insure your property and avoid roof collapse during snow storms.

If you have questions about your building’s condition, contact a structural engineer or your local building official for an assessment of the conditions.

This material does not purport to address every possible legal obligation, hazard, code violation, loss potential or exception to good practice. It should not be construed as indicating the existence or availability of any insurance coverage. Portions of this information provided by Hanover Insurance.

We saw a great article written by Russ Banhan of Independent Agent magazine, about personal and business exposures from the use of social media. Here's eight ways to reduce your exposure:

1. On Facebook and other social media sites, take advantage of the highest security settings and only allow "friends" - not "friends of friends" - to see your profile.

2. When creating a profile, choose a different year of birth than your actual one.

3. Be parsimonious with your "friendships": if you don't know the person in the real world, do not friend them in the cyber world.

4. Make sure that your friend really is who he/she says he/she is. Follow up your friend requests with an e-mail, text or phone call.

5. Make your children friend you. This enables you to watch them, and them to know that you're watching.

6. Don't post or tweet your location or when you're going to be any place specific, to reduce the chance of being burglarized.

7. Search for yourself using search engines like Google and people search sites like Pipl to find out what is being said about you, and then contact websites that have posted inaccurate or personal information to have it removed.

8. Consider investing in online repuatation management services that will monitor the Internet for information about you.

Information taken in part from an article by Russ Banham.

See also: Cyberbullying and Age-Based Guidelines For Children's Internet Use

Effective August 1, 2010, Employer Notification is available to employers of regular Class D drivers. Employers may enroll any employee whose employment responsibilities include the operation of any motor vehicle. Wisconsin Statutes 343.245 authorizes this program.

Employer Notification allows participants to create and maintain their own roster of employed drivers in PARS. The program will identify any enrolled employee with recent activity on their driving record and allow the purchase of a current driver record abstract.

More information can be found on Wisconsin's DOT website.

A fleet of any size (simply the use of vehicles in a company or organization), is an exposure which can generate losses for the organization in all four categories: property, human resources, liability and net income. Risk managers recognize the importance of well-designed and properly implemented fleet safety programs. The new twist is that new technology and ever-changing laws require these plans to be reflective of these changes and dynamic for each individual organization.

In 2008, there were 37,261 motor vehicle fatalities and almost 2.5 million injuries in the United States, generating a more than $231 billion dollars in damages. Occupational fatalities associated with highway incidents in 2008 totaled 1,149, or about one in four of all occupational fatalities.

Every organization that uses vehicles in any manner should enforce a fleet safety program that at the minimum contains these components:

• Driver Qualification and Training
• Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) review
• Vehicle Inspection & Maintenance
• Tracking, Monitoring & Documentation

Driver Qualification and Training
Most organizations require basic state licensing and may elect to impose minimum requirements for age and experience of drivers for certain applications such as product load, people transportation etc.

Training drivers in defensive driving techniques and other fleet safety topics can be accomplished through online programming, behind-the-wheel coaching, and classroom instruction.

MVR Review
Regular evaluation of MVRs is a standard component in fleet safety programs. For MVR review to be successful, employers must consider exactly what records will be evaluated, and how they will guide employment and driving assignment decisions.

The MVR monitoring process can be outsourced to companies that provide background screening services for new and existing employees. These services monitor activity associated with fleet drivers and immediately notify fleet managers of any negative activity associated with an employee driver.

Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance
A comprehensive program for regular safety inspections and mandatory maintenance and repairs for fleet vehicles is an extremely important part of a fleet safety program that is often overlooked.

If any claim were to go to litigation, a defense attorney could take full advantage of any evidence indicating a delay in important safety precautions such as tire replacement or brake repair. Therefore, it’s not only important to stay on top of all vehicle maintenance requirements, it’s also essential to keep accurate records of maintenance and repair schedules in case it needs to be proven in court.

Tracking, Monitoring & Documentation
New technologies such as Global Positioning Systems, Ignition Interlock Devices and the onset of extensive mobile device usage has increased the need for close monitoring, highly documented policies and knowledge of the law.

Tracking Location
Global positioning systems (GPS) installed in vehicles can provide fleet owners with many useful tools to not only manage vehicle utilization, but also operational safety. These systems can measure and communicate the exact location and vehicle speed on a real-time basis to a central point. For an organization that must maximize efficiencies to survive, control speeding and other misuse of their vehicles, GPS technology used to monitor the actions of employees behind the wheel can be an important new tool to compliment a fleet safety program.

Ignition Interlock Devices
Another area of technology that is impacting fleet management policies is the use of ignition interlock devices (IIDs) by drivers convicted of DUI. These devices require the driver to blow a sample of their breath through the device before the vehicle’s ignition will start. IIDs can be court ordered for an employee convicted of DUI. The question for business owners and fleet managers is whether to allow IID installation in a company vehicle to accommodate a legal requirement imposed on an employee. It is important for fleet owners to understand the laws, and plan ahead for how they will respond to an IID order for one of their employees.

Mobile Devices
One of the most significant new challenges for fleet safety programs is managing the use of mobile devices on the road. The use of cell phones and other portable devices for talking, texting, email, social networking, and navigation while driving is now commonplace, especially among younger drivers.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicates that drivers engaged in texting while driving increase their chance of being in an accident by 23 times. A troublesome reality for fleet owners is how easy it is to prove that a driver was texting at the time of an accident, due to the precise time stamp assigned to every message. These distractions must be considered and addressed in every company’s updated fleet safety policy. Every fleet owner must evaluate the communication needs of their drivers, device policies, and the law to manage that risk appropriately.

Business owners and fleet managers face a intimidating task to develop and implement fleet safety programs that comply with applicable laws and reduce risk to their property, their people and their profitability. A successful fleet safety program for your organization begins with a tailored plan that addresses the specific needs of your organization and then remains flexible enough to respond to changes in technology and the law.