Now that spring is here and workers are beginning to landscape businesses, streets, parks, schools and other green spaces statewide, Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation (LWCC) is reminding employers to make sure that workers take every precaution when performing landscaping and horticulture jobs in and around the workplace.

Those jobs include soil preparation and grading, irrigation, hardscape construction (building of hard-surface patios, decks, walkways, etc.), planting, lawn care and landscape maintenance, tree trimming and line clearance.

According to recent statistics, many landscaping hazards, particularly in the tree care industry, are potentially fatal. A few of the dangers include faulty safety equipment, falling branches and tools, and exposure to overhead power lines. The two leading causes of death among tree trimmers are electrocutions and falls.

"While landscaping enhances the esthetics of a company's physical plant, the work involved to create this environment can be potentially hazardous and can lead to workplace injuries and even death if proper safety precautions are not followed," says Bruce Lambert, LWCC director of safety and loss prevention.

Primary landscaping and horticulture hazards include exposure to chemicals; equipment accidents; hearing loss (from leaf blowers, chainsaws, etc.); slips, trips and falls; vehicle accidents; cuts and amputation; eye injuries; lifting injuries; and electrocution from contact with overhead, buried or temporary electrical power lines. All are preventable with proper education and training.

Many teens also perform landscaping work as a means of earning money during the lucrative spring and summer landscaping months. "Employers should especially make sure that teen workers have a firm understanding of the exposures and hazards of their work assignments to ensure they apply appropriate workplace safety practices. They should make sure that they, and all employees, are properly educated and adhere to all training in order to prevent injuries," says Lambert. "Employers are also encouraged to implement a landscaping safety and health program that is easily understood and applied by their Hispanic workers."

For related links and more information on landscaping and horticulture safety, as well as a variety of other helpful workplace safety topics, visit LWCC's Web site at www.lwcc.com.

LWCC (www.lwcc.com) is a private, nonprofit mutual insurance company.  It is the largest writer of workers' compensation insurance in Louisiana, covering about 22,000 policyholders. The company carries an "A" (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best and, for the fifth year in a row, was named one of the top 50 property and casualty insurance companies in the nation by Ward Group, the leading authority on insurance industry benchmarking.