|
WORKPLACE INJURY GLOSSARY |
 |
Glossary of
Workplace Injury Terms
A
B C
D E
F G
H I
J K L
M N
O P
Q R
S T
U V
W X Y Z #
Click on
the first letter of the word from the list above to go to
the appropriate section of the glossary.
Contact us if you would like a personal injury law glossary or
one of other legal glossaries for
your website.
- S -
Safety Committee: A group comprised of
employees, which has been formed to address safety and health issues at a
worksite or multiple worksites.
Safety Factor: The ratio of the ultimate
breaking strength of a member or piece of material or equipment to the actual
working stress or safe load when in use.
Safety-monitoring system: A safety system
in which a competent person is responsible for recognizing and warning employees
of fall hazards.
Safety Inspection: The act of examining
both worksites and equipment, and comparing them against previously established
standards specifically to determine if safety legislation and the company safety
policies are being followed (looking for unsafe acts and conditions).
Safe Work Agreement: A tool that helps
workers understand the specific work to be done and the hazards they might
encounter on the job. It's also an agreement on how hazards will be managed,
who'll manage them and what personal-protective equipment will be required.
Safe Work Permit: Issued as a written
record by which a person in charge of a unit, equipment, building area,
authorizes a worker and/or work crew to do a specific job at that work site. It
identifies what precautions (safe work practices) were taken and/or will be
taken to ensure that the working conditions are safe for the type of work to be
performed, in a specific job location, during a specific time interval. It
outlines the safety equipment required and to be used for that specific job
location.
Safe Work Practices: Procedure for
carrying out specific tasks, which, when followed, will ensure that workers'
exposure to hazardous situations, substances, and physical agents is controlled
by the manner in which the work is carried out.
Scaffold: Any temporary elevated platform
(supported or suspended) and its supporting structure (including points of
anchorage), used for supporting employees or materials or both.
Seatbelt: A device, usually worn around
the waist, consisting of a strap or straps anchored to a vehicle so as to hold a
person in his seat.
Self-retracting lifeline/lanyard: A
deceleration device containing a drum-wound line which can be slowly extracted
from, or retracted onto, the drum under slight tension during normal employee
movement, and which, after onset of a fall, automatically locks the drum and
arrests the fall.
Serious and willful misconduct: A petition
filed if your injury is caused by the serious and willful misconduct of your
employer.
Setoff: A claim by a defendant in a
lawsuit that the plaintiff owes the defendant money which should therefore be
subtracted from the amount of damages claimed by plaintiff.
Settlement: The resolution of a lawsuit or
legal dispute prior to a final court judgment. Most settlement are achieved by
negotiation in which the attorneys and the parties agree to terms of settlement.
In practice, most lawsuits result in settlement.
Shield (Shield system): A structure that
is able to withstand the forces imposed on it by a cave-in and thereby protect
employees within the structure. Shields can be permanent structures or can be
designed to be portable and moved along as work progresses. Additionally,
shields can be either pre-manufactured or job-built in accordance with
1926.652(c)(3) or (c)(4). Shields used in trenches are usually referred to as
"trench boxes" or "trench shields."
Shore: A supporting member that resists a
compressive force imposed by a load; or the operation by which a supporting
member is placed.
Significant Potential Incident: An
incident without actual consequences where the coordinates of probability and
potential consequence meet in the higher or medium risk area of the Risk
Assessment Matrix.
Site Supervisor: An employee or contractor
assigned by the company to supervise a potential job.
Sloping (Sloping system): A method of
protecting employees from cave-ins by excavating to form sides of an excavation
that are inclined away from the excavation so as to prevent cave-ins. The angle
of incline required to prevent a cave-in varies with differences in such factors
as the soil type, environmental conditions of exposure, and application of
surcharge loads.
Snaphook: A connector comprised of a
hook-shaped member with a normally closed keeper, or similar arrangement, which
may be opened to permit the hook to receive an object and, when released,
automatically closes to retain the object. Snaphooks are generally one of two
types: The locking type with a self-closing, self-locking keeper which remains
closed and locked until unlocked and pressed open for connection or
disconnection; or the non-locking type with a self-closing keeper which remains
closed until pressed open for connection or disconnection. As of January 1,
1998, the use of a non-locking snaphook as part of personal fall arrest systems
and positioning device systems is prohibited.
Spoil: The dirt, rocks, and other
materials removed from an excavation and either temporarily or permanently put
aside.
Stable rock: Natural solid mineral
material that can be excavated with vertical sides and will remain intact while
exposed. Unstable rock is considered to be stable when the rock material on the
side or sides of the excavation is secured against caving-in or movement by rock
bolts or by another protective system that has been designed by a registered
professional engineer.
Stair tower (Scaffold stairway/tower): A
tower comprised of scaffold components and which contains internal stairway
units and rest platforms. These towers are used to provide access to scaffold
platforms and other elevated points such as floors and roofs.
Steep roof: A roof having a slope greater
than 4 in 12 (vertical to horizontal).
Stilts: A pair of poles or similar
supports with raised footrests, used to permit walking above the ground or
working surface.
Specific injury: An injury caused by one
event at work.
Source of injury: Principal object such as
tool, machine, or equipment involved in the accident and is usually the object
inflicting injury or property damage.
Spiral Ferrel: A re-usable device attached
to the tail chain end of a winch line to prevent the tail chain from sliding off
of the winch cable.
Standard (Limited Definition): An accepted
specification of something to which sites or employees must conform unless a
deviation from the standard is documented and approved.
Statute of limitations: A law which sets
the maximum period after which the right to file a lawsuit expires, depending on
the type of case or claim. In some instances a statute of limitations can be
extended based on delay in discovery of injury.
Stipulated rating: Formal agreement on
your permanent disability rating. Must be approved by a workers' compensation
judge.
Stipulation with award: A settlement of a
case where the parties agree on the terms of an award. This is the document the
judge signs to make the award final.
Stipulations with request for award: A
settlement in which the parties agree on the terms of an award. Payment takes
place over time.
Subjective factors: The amount of pain and
other symptoms described by an injured worker that a doctor reports as
contributing to a worker's permanent disability. Subjective factors are
generally not given as much weight as objective factors.
Subpoena: A document that requires a
witness to appear at a hearing.
Strict liability: Automatic responsibility
for damages due to ownership or use of equipment, materials or possessions which
are inherently dangerous.
Subcontractor: Any person, firm or
corporation, contracting with the contractor, to perform part of the work and
includes partners and associates in a joint venture so contracting with the
contractor.
Suitable: That which fits, and has the
qualities or qualifications to meet a given purpose, occasion, condition,
function, or circumstance.
Summary rating: The percentage of
permanent disability.
Supervisor: A supervisor person of the
contractor, at the site.
DISCLAIMER: The
information contained within this personal injury site is of a general nature
and is not meant to be a restatement of any rules of law. Your
use of this site does not create an attorney-client
relationship. You should hire an attorney to obtain legal
advice for your specific case.
© Copyright 2004,
Consultwebs.com, Inc., All rights reserved. Personal
Injury Law
Glossary.
|
