Employers have a duty of care regarding hard hats on the job site.
Hard hats are some of the earliest forms of personal protective equipment (“PPE”) used to keep workers safe on the job. The first industrial safety head coverings were called “Hard Boiled Hats.” Made of canvas and leather, they were based upon designs developed as military headgear in World War I. Read, “The History of the Hard Hat,” written by David Kindy and published by Smithsonian Magazine on February 21, 2020.
Today, hard hats are commonplace in a variety of industries in Indiana and Illinois, including construction, steel, manufacturing, mining, and warehousing. However, any worker should have an employer making sure that a proper hard hat is being worn if that worker is facing any risk of head injury, regardless of how often hard hats are required at that particular job site.
Hard Hats Save Lives and Protect Workers from Catastrophic Injuries
Hard hats are extremely important PPE. Even seemingly minor accidents on a job site, such as a hammer falling from a scaffold in a struck-by accident, can have devastating consequences for a worker injured on the job. Brain injuries or damage to the spinal cord and/or nervous system can kill someone, or leave them with permanent disabilities. For more, read: Head Injury in an Accident: Varied Causes of Permanent Brain Injuries and Spinal Cord Injuries: Tragic Result of Serious Accidents.
Hard hats can make all the difference in whether or not a worker suffers a serious or fatal injury, or if that worker is injured at all, in a workplace accident.
How are hard hats so significant in keeping workers safe? Explains the American National Standards Institute (“ANSI”), an organization responsible for industrial safety standards that are independent of governmental regulations:
The human brain is an incredibly complex organ, bearing a mass amount of folds and wrinkles just so its large surface area can be packed into the head. A system that is so essential to a person’s basic functions needs appropriate protection, something that is accomplished by the cranium and meninges, a system of three membranes beneath the skull. However, the natural protection given to our brain is only suitable for minor hazards, and is insufficient for scenarios in which an individual is exposed to greater dangers. In industry, workers wear hardhats to protect their heads.
Employer’s Legal Duty for Worker Hard Hats
There is no option for employers in whether or not their employees should be wearing hard hats on the job. Hard hats are legally required as part of the employer’s duty of care.
There are two specific federal regulations mandating hard hats on the jobsite: 29 CFR §1926.100 and 29 CFR §1910.135. Furthermore, industrial safety standards created by ANSI also help to define whether or not there has been negligence and a breach of a duty of care regarding worker hard hats as provided in ANSI Z89.1-2009. Many of the ANSI standards have been incorporated by reference into the federal regulations.
29 CFR §1926.100
Under 29 CFR §1926.100, employers are instructed that “…[e]mployees working in areas where there is a possible danger of head injury from impact, or from falling or flying objects, or from electrical shock and burns, shall be protected by protective helmets.”
Employers are to do so by providing “…each employee with head protection that meets the specifications contained in any of the following consensus standards,” referencing ANSI Z89.1-2009; ANSI Z89.1-2003; and ANSI Z89.1-1997.
Additionally, employers “…must ensure that the head protection provided for each employee exposed to high-voltage electric shock and burns also meets the specifications contained in Section 9.7 (“Electrical Insulation”) of any of the consensus standards identified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.”
29 CFR §1910.135
In its general requirements, 29 CFR §1910.135 is clear:
(1) The employer shall ensure that each affected employee wears a protective helmet when working in areas where there is a potential for injury to the head from falling objects; and
(2) The employer shall ensure that a protective helmet designed to reduce electrical shock hazard is worn by each such affected employee when near exposed electrical conductors which could contact the head.
Employers are also given specific criteria for head protection, which “must comply with any of the following consensus standards,” referring the employer to incorporated ANSI Z89.1-2009; ANSI Z89.1-2003; and ANSI Z89.1-1997.
ANSI Z89.1
ANSI Z89.1 essentially provides that hard hats must be worn at any time that heads may be subject to potential hazards on the jobsite.
Proper Protection for Workers from Hard Hats
The goal of all hard hats used on an industrial worksite is to keep the wearer safe from injury in an accident. The risks are many, of course, from struck-by accidents, to falls from a height, or even exposure to a live wire. See, Beware One of the Deadliest Dangers on Construction Sites: Struck-By Accidents; Fatal Falls on the Job and the Employer’s Failure to Protect Worker From Fall Risk; and Electric Power Lines and Live Wires on the Worksite: Serious or Fatal Electricity Accidents.
As a general rule of thumb, industrial hardhats should not only absorb the impact of blows to the head, but should also serve as insulators against electric shocks, be water resistant and slow burning, and shield the scalp, face, neck, and shoulders.
The Right Hard Hat: Different Types for Different Purposes
Employers need to understand that there are different types of hard hats available for workers because different dangers need different types of head protection. Workers also need to be trained to know the reasons for different types of hard hats, including what parts of the site need various kinds of head protection. Workers should also be educated on how to care and maintain their hard hats.
Hard Hat is not a Bump Cap
Bump caps are head gear that do not meet the legal mandates of OSHA or ANSI. They are worn on a job site as head protection when a hard hat is not necessary. As the name implies, they are used to protect against minor injuries (e.g., minor bruise) from a bump on the head.
Identification of the Hard Hat Type and Purpose
Inside all regulation-meeting hard hats will be printed information that identifies things like the manufacturer of the hard hat; its date of manufacture; its size; conformity to ANSI standard number; its and type and class under ANSI standards. Other information may include things like low temperature marks.
There are two types of hard hats as defined by ANSI. There are also three classes of hard hats, depending upon how much protection they provide from electricity.
The two types of hard hats are (1) Type I, which is designed to protect the top of the head; and (2) Type 2, which is designed to keep both the top and sides of the head safe from harm.
ANSI classifies hard hats into three categories: Class C, which offer no protection from electrical current; Class E, which are designed to protect the wearer up to 20,000 volts; and Class G, designed to protect the wearer up to 2200 volts.
Inspection, Repair and Replacement of Hard Hats
While regulations do not specify time frames for the repair or replacement of hard hats, it is wise for employers to check with the manufacturer for expiration dates for their hard hat product lines. Support straps on a hard hat will need replacement much sooner than the hat itself.
The employer has a duty to inspect worksite hard hats and make sure all head protection is in good and proper condition. If a hard hat is dented or cracked or the strap is worn, then the worker should not be allowed to use that hard hat on the site.
Justice for Workers Hurt from Hard Hat Accident in Illinois or Indiana
Workers in some very dangerous lines of work here in our part of the country must rely upon their employers to fulfil the legal duties of care and safety imposed upon them by law. This includes keeping workers safe from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs); spinal cord injuries; concussions; burns; electrocutions; or death because of the failure to provide a hard hat or to allow a flawed or failing hard hat to be used on the worksite.
When a serious or deadly industrial accident happens, the worker victim and their loved ones need to know their legal rights to investigate the event and determine what duties of care and safety may have been violated. Legal liability may exist against the employer and others for how a hard hat contributed to the bodily injuries sustained by the worker.
For more, read:
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
- The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
- Hurt by a Defective Product in Indiana or Illinois: Recalls and Failings
- The PPE Problem: Study Blames Workers for Failing to Use Personal Protective Equipment on the Job.
Hard hats are extremely important personal protective equipment for workers here in Illinois and Indiana. If employers fail to meet legally-defined duties regarding hard hats on the job site, there can be devastating results that happen in an instant. Please be careful out there!
