Whenever a contractor or boss is not concerned about workplace safety, then the employees at that worksite may be exposed to unnecessary dangers. According to Science, a new research study and experiment proves that when state agencies choose to do random surprise inspections on workplaces throughout their state, the quality of worker safety improves significantly. In the past, many companies have argued that government regulations can drive companies to layoffs and bankruptcy, but the government has argued that their accountability has been essential to preserving lives at the workplace. While both sides of the argument will rage on for years to come, a new study showed that random safety inspections do improve safety and don’t lead to burdensome expenses or job loss for employees. Scientists used a randomized, controlled study to determine this fact.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration typically perform routine inspections or will designate state agencies to complete a safety inspection that is up to OSHA standards. Normally, these inspections are scheduled or occur after a report of an accident at the worksite. They aren’t normally a surprise. Most of the time, the injury rates tend to go back to whatever they were before the injury occurred even though there was an OSHA inspection. When the OSHA completes an inspection, there are times that they determine that there is insufficient information and may require the company to keep better records for future inspections.

This means that more injuries are often reported by these companies, which makes it look like injury rates actually went up after an inspection because all of this data made it able to determine if OSHA inspections truly did enhance worker’s safety. The California division of Occupational Safety and Health carries out some inspections at random in their state, and with the help of this agency and the University of California Berkeley, researchers were able to determine whether or not surprise inspections enhanced the safety of a workplace over a period of 120 years. The researchers used workers’ compensation claim records from four years before surprise inspections to four years after. They also examined the amount of injuries during the same block of time. Companies that were in the study produced a variety of construction products including doors, car parts, aerospace products, food products, and wood.

At the end of the experiment, the researchers who were collecting data from factories and workplace where there were randomized inspections saw the amount of workplace injuries per four years decline by about 9%. The cost of the injuries reported, including the expenses for medical treatment and the missed days of work, fell by 26%. Now that the OSHA has scientific proof that randomized inspections are effective, they will more than likely begin dropping by more factories and dangerous work environments to make sure that appropriate safety measures are taking place. When safety inspections are scheduled, employers will often bring out their highest danger prevention tactics and tell employees to play along.

When the inspections are randomized, it causes employers to always be on their guard. One day of slack safety standards could be the day that the OSHA comes knocking. If you have been injured in a workplace accident, and this accident could have been prevented if safety measures were being implemented, then you have the right to seek workers compensation. With the help of a dedicated and hardworking attorney, you can receive the settlement that you deserve and may even be able to get extra finances to cover the costs of your pain and suffering. Talk to a local personal injury attorney today if you want more information about pursuing your workers’ compensation claim!