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‘Common Sense’ as a Legal Standard
Some thoughts on last week’s article about the OSHA general duty clause and using “common sense” to determine if an employer recognized a hazard.
I believe common sense has been a contributing factor in many incidents. The problem with so called common sense is that it’s not really common at all. It’s drawn from personal experience and is as different as our lives. When someone asks, “Why didn’t you use common sense?,” they’re really asking, “Why didn’t you do what I would have done?” The fact is that when you use your “common sense,” you always do what makes sense to you.
Common Sense = My Opinion
Instead of common sense, the standard should be:
- Common practice;
- Reasonable (what would a reasonable person do (i.e. judged against your field); or
- Practicable (doable, possible, feasible).
“Safety John” Wettstein, CRSP, CHSC
Wettstein Safety Strategies Inc.
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Mr. Wettstein hit the nail squarely on the head. If there were a universal safety energy employers and workers would not put themselves, their businnes, nor the environment at risk.
Also, the notion that the employer is, by law, required to provide a safe workplace is inherently flawed. All workplaces are unsafe; therefore, what makes the workplace safe is based on how safely people work in unsafe environments.
Keep up the initiative Mr. Wettstein to eradicate the inappropriate understanding of what common sense truly is.
Excellent point. This is not applicable only to safety but to all. Promoting it to eliminate this general expression and undertand its meaning could be if, possible, to published by this site for maybe a week as an "expression" so more pleople will read it, understand it and therefore aplying it in the workplace. It should not be kept for the only the ones who red this article; the word shall spread. Good job.