Experts tell us that effective worksite danger warnings will do three things: (1) communicate safety information; (2) reduce risky behavior; and (3) protect against workplace accidents and personal injuries. Read, Wogalter, M. S. (2005). Factors that influence the design of warning labels and signs. In A. de Moraes & G. Amado (Eds.), ErgoDesign/USIHC: Colletanea de Palestras de Convidados Internacionais e Nacionais. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: PUC-Rio.
On the worksites of Illinois and Indiana, these warnings obviously include warning labels placed on machinery, equipment, and tools of all shapes and sizes that are used in a variety of industries.
Most of these warning labels are required by regulation or statute, although a significant number of warning labels are also promoted and encouraged by industrial standards outside the force of law.
For more, read: Warning Labels: Danger of Serious Injury or Death in Accidents Involving Products.
Standardized Industrial Warning Labels for the Job Site
There are federal regulations detailing specifics for certain warning labels. Additionally, the American National Standard Institute (“ANSI”) has published Z535.4-2011(R2017), which specifies acceptable warning labels (as well as warning signs) for various industrial workplaces.
Specifically, this ANSI Warning Label standard details many things found to be necessary for an adequate warning label, from the words to be used to the fonts to be chosen. Certain colors are recommended. Graphics and symbols are included, too. Signal words must be prominent on the label (e.g., “Danger”). Even the best location for the warning label is suggested within the industrial standard. Read, McGrath, John M. “The role of equipment warning labels in the industrial workplace.” International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics 17.1 (2011): 49-60.
An amazing number of warning labels promoted as ANSI or OSHA compliant are sold in the marketplace today, to be placed by manufacturers and others with responsibility for worker safety on things like ladders, scaffolds, forklifts, and power tools. Customized warning labels for the particular jobsite are also available.
All dangerous industrial workplace products should have a warning label.
Online offers run the gamut, from things like warnings for electrical equipment ; rotating shafts; stepladder falls; or the dangers of watching the arc. Some, but not all, are bilingual (like this sign warning of high voltage in Spanish and English).
These warning labels are expected to be placed by the manufacturer or supplier on any hazardous or dangerous product that any worker is asked to use in the course of the workday. However, employers and contractors also have duties of safety and care that include making sure that there are effective warning labels for all machinery, equipment, or tools that pose the risk of injury for those working on their site.
Legal responsibility for warning labels extends wider than the company that initially made the product.
Warning Labels and Workplace Injuries: Legal Liability
Under longstanding state law in both Illinois and Indiana, a legal duty exists for manufacturers and suppliers of goods and products to warn workers of possible dangers that might result in bodily harm when using that product or good. If an accident happens that involves that product, and it was reasonably foreseeable to happen, then there may be legal liability for those who made or supplied it to the jobsite where the work accident happened. There is also a legal duty to keep workers safe from dangerous products for those who bought or provided the product (like employers, contractors, land owners of the construction site, etc.).
One of the easiest, efficient, and most cost-effective ways to meet these legal duties of care and safety is to make sure that all machinery, equipment, and tools at the workplace have effective warning labels attached to them.
There are two important factors here: (1) the warning label should be attached; and (2) the warning label should be effective. Without both of these, preventable accidents can happen where legal duties are breached, such as:
- the failure to make sure a ladder still has its warning label firmly adhered to its side may make an employer or contractor liable for a roofer who falls from a height while on a construction site;
- disrespecting that some members of the workforce do not read English and failing to provide warning labels that they can understand and appreciate (bilingual warning labels are a must at most workplaces); or
- careless removal of or failure to maintain warning labels on equipment or power tools.
See, Infamously Dangerous Power Tools: Angle Grinders, Chainsaws, Table Saws, Lathes; and Workplace Housekeeping and Serious Accidents on the Job: Duty of Care.
Warning Labels: the Duty to Warn
Indiana and Illinois, as well as their sister states, have created a “duty to warn” within their state jurisprudence which underrides the needs of a particular worksite warning label.
Workers hurt on the job where a product was involved in the accident have a right to independently investigate whether or not there has been breach in this “duty to warn” which establishes legal liability for one or more parties at the worksite.
Each warning label in an accident where a worker has been hurt by a product known to be dangerous must be individually studied to determine if it has failed to warn the worker of the risks involved. Expert analysis may be required here.
No generalizations can be made; each case is unique, where questions will include things like:
- Was there a warning label?
- Was it compliant with ANSI or OSHA?
- Did the warning label not give any warning to the worker?
- Did the warning label not give an adequate or effective warning to the accident victim?
- Did the warning label’s language fail to instruct on the specific hazards involved in the incident?
On the Job Accident Caused by Warning Labels
There may be more than one reason for a severe or fatal work accident. After all, industrial workers in Indiana and Illinois work in some of the most dangerous jobsites in our country. See, Workers in Indiana And Illinois Work in Some of The Most Dangerous Jobs in America.
Warning labels must be considered as a factor whenever someone is hurt on the job. Warning labels are one of the simplest ways to let workers know about dangers they face. Nevertheless, all too often there is a failure in the duty of care regarding warning labels on a busy worksite.
These matters may involve liability for the manufacturer of the good or product. Other parties may be revealed to share responsibility, as well, including the supplier, shipper, employer, contractor, and others.
When an accident involves a product, it is possible for several different companies or entities to be held accountable for what has happened to the injured worker accident victim and their loved ones. See, e.g., Scordato, Marin Roger. “The Curious Case of Tort Liability for a Defective Product That the Defendant Did Not Make, Sell, or Distribute.” Mo. L. Rev. 88 (2023): 135.
Also see:
- Who Is Responsible After Worker’s Power Tool Accident?
- Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana: Workers Compensation Claim vs. Personal Injury Damages.
Damages in a work accident where a warning label contributed to the bodily injury of the worker may involve not only immediate medical care and treatment, but subsequent medical costs; physical rehabilitation; psychological treatment (anxiety, depression, etc.); lost wages; pain and suffering; and more.
For more, read:
- Who Can Claim Damages After a Work Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- What are Legal Damages After a Work-Related Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- The Reality of Widespread Industrial Work Accident Deaths in Illinois and Indiana: Warning to Our Workers.
Workers can be killed or suffer permanent injuries and life-altering harm in seconds from commonplace tools, machinery, or equipment on the job. Warning labels must be respected for their important role in keeping workers safe. Please be careful out there!
