OSHA Can Use Insurance Reports Against You

January 15, 2015 No Comments

 

In the past, OSHA inspectors were not allowed access to insurance company safety inspection reports.   Well that’s all been changed by some recent legislation.   Now, the courts have given OSHA the legal right to see insurance company inspection reports.

This means your OSHA fines and penalties could significantly increase if OSHA finds the same safety violation that your insurance company had previously found!  Why?  Because OSHA can now prove that you had prior knowledge of the hazard because the insurance company had previously told you about it.   This prior knowledge may be all OSHA needs to elevate the citation from “serious” to “willful”.

Insurance company safety and loss control consultants have a right to inspect an insured’s operations.  While you can not control what they put into their reports, you can minimize your liability by promptly correcting all of their recommendations.

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