July 25, 2023

Heavy equipment hazards and bee stings

As a service to our policyholders, Texas Mutual shares serious workplace injury trends based on catastrophic injuries and fatalities reported to our claims department. Not all of these reported injuries are covered by workers’ compensation, but our goal is to help you ensure these types of incidents do not happen in your workplace. Find safety tips below to help keep your employees safe on the job.

If you have questions, we encourage you to contact our safety services support center at 844-WORKSAFE (967-5723) or safety@texasmutual.com.

In this alert:

• Heavy equipment hazards
• Bee stings

Heavy equipment hazards – backovers

An employee was conducting traffic control on the roadway when they were run over by a truck that was backing up. In another incident, an employee was performing maintenance on a vehicle when it moved and pinned the employee between the vehicle and building structure.

Employees working near heavy equipment must be trained on the associated hazards and controls, even if they won’t be operating it. Proper planning will help keep everyone safe around heavy equipment operations.

• As a heavy equipment operator, use a spotter to help you back up safely.
• As an employee working around heavy equipment, never position yourself between two pieces of heavy equipment or between heavy equipment and an immovable structure.
• Avoid using your cell phone, listening to music or any other distracting activities that could prevent you from noticing a hazard or hearing an alert.
• Do not enter areas that have been blocked off for heavy equipment operations.

Bee stings

An employee was swarmed by bees while conducting landscape work at a client’s property. While the employee did receive multiple stings, they were able to recover well from the injuries.

Insects like bees are a common hazard to landscapers and other employees working outdoors, especially during spring and summer months. It’s important to recognize the risks and take proper precautions before working. If you are allergic to bees or wasps, make sure to carry an epinephrine auto injector (EpiPen) with you.

• Avoid using perfume, cologne and any perfumed soaps and deodorants.
• Wear light-colored clothing that covers as much skin as possible.
• Inspect your work area for nests before starting and avoid working near one.
• If you’re attacked by multiple bees, run away and try to get indoors or to a shaded area.
• If you are stung, wash the site with soap and water, remove the stinger and seek medical attention if there are signs of a severe allergic reaction.

Get free safety resources

Texas Mutual policyholders have access to thousands of free training materials in our multimedia safety resource center, including our safety catalog with up-to-date resources.

To access the free materials, log in to your texasmutual.com account and select Safety. If you need help accessing the safety resource center or you have a workplace safety question, call us toll-free at 844-WORKSAFE (967-5723).

Download a PDF (517KB) version of the July Safety Alert.