I was sitting in meeting of the PLASA Technical Standards when, out of the mouth of Richard Nix came pure gold. We were talking about what's commonly called "best practices" in the entertainment industry and whether or not codes and regulations are followed, and how that all relates to accidents.
If there's an accident, he said, then the logical place to start asking questions is, "Did you follow code?" If not, then the next logical questions are: "Did you know there are applicable codes? If no, then sorry for your luck. If yes, then sorry for your luck."
I thought it was good enough to make a flow chart, and here's what it looks like:
The bottom line is, know and follow the codes and regulations. Above all, be safe.