As a laborer, your head may be injured from falling or flying objects, or by bumping your head against fixed objects.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires your employer to provide you with head protection whenever your work exposes you to falling or flying object hazards. According to a survey of accidents and injuries conducted by the Bureau or Labor Statistics (BLS), head injuries account for 13 percent of all injuries to laborers.

In addition, the majority of laborers who suffered impact injuries to the head were not wearing head protection because their employers did not require them to wear head protection.

Head protection (hard hat/protective helmet) is designed to protect your head from impact and penetration hazards. It is also used to protect you against electrical shock or burns. Each type and class of hard hat is intended to provide protection against specific hazardous conditions. There are three classes of head protection:

Class A - general service, limited voltage protection

Class B - utility service, high-voltage helmets

Class C - special service, no voltage protection

The standards recognized by OSHA for selecting head protection are contained in American National Standards Institute requirements for Industrial Head Protection, Z89.1-1969.

Never paint or use cleaning solvents on your hard hat since they may damage the shell and reduce protection by physically weakening it or negating electrical resistance. When cleaning your hard hat, dip it in hot water containing a good detergent for at least one minute, then scrub and rinse it in clear hot water.

After rinsing, visually inspect the shell for any signs of damage. Each day, prior to wearing your hard hat, visually inspect all components (shell, suspension, headbands, sweatbands) and any accessories for evidence of dents, cracks, penetrations, or other damage that might reduce the degree of protection originally provided.

Follow these safety rules for head protection:

Remember, your head is exposed to hazards every day on the job. You can avoid most head injuries if you select, wear and maintain the appropriate type of head protection.

The short answer is no. Under Wisconsin law (Section 895.52 of the Wisconsin Statutes) a property owner’s liability for injuries to persons engaging in recreational activities on the property is very limited.

If you are on someone else’s property and engaged in a recreational activity such as hunting, the property owner does not have a duty to keep the property safe for recreational activities; does not have a duty to inspect the property; and does not have a duty to give warning of an unsafe condition, use or activity on the property.

Furthermore, the property owner is not liable for death or injury caused by another person engaging in a recreational activity on the owner’s land or for any death or injury resulting from an attack by a wild animal.

There are limited exceptions to this law. For example, if the property owner whose property is used for recreational activity collects money, goods or services in payment for the use of the property and the aggregate value of all payments received by the owner during the year in which the death or injury occurs exceeds $2,000, then the property owner may be responsible for death or injury occurring on the owner’s land when it is being used for recreational purposes.

There is also an exception for death or injury caused by a malicious act or a malicious failure to warn against an unsafe condition of which the property owner knew at the time of the injury or death.

For many years this law was popularly known as "the berry picking statute." As the law was first drafted, it was meant to protect property owners from individuals who came on the property to engage in certain common outdoor activities such as berry picking, hiking, hunting and fishing.

Over the years, the law evolved to include recreational activities as diverse as exploring caves, hang gliding and climbing observation towers so that now virtually all recreational activities are included.

In addition to this law, a property owner generally does not have a duty to keep his property safe, inspect his property, or to give warning of an unsafe condition to anyone who is on the property without the permission of the owner, i.e., a trespasser.