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What You Need to Know About the "Fatal Four" Workplace Dangers
Every year, thousands of workers are killed on the job in the United States. The vast majority of these deaths are preventable if the right safety precautions are taken. Today, we will discuss the "Fatal Four" workplace dangers that account for the largest percentage of worker fatalities each year. If you want to keep yourself and your loved ones safe, it is important to be aware of these dangers and take steps to protect yourself from them.
The Fatal Four
The construction industry is among the most dangerous industries for workers, accounting for about 1,000 workplace fatalities per year in this country. On average, about 60% of these fatalities are attributed to just four specific dangers that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has labeled as the "Fatal Four." The Fatal Four include the following:
Fatal Four Danger #1: Falls From Heights
The first of the Fatal Four is falls. Falls from heights are one of the most common causes of workplace fatalities, accounting for over 350 deaths each year. If you work in a job that involves any kind of height, it is important to wear the proper safety equipment and to follow all safety procedures. Even if you simply use a ladder occasionally in the course of your job, you should be aware of the potential for falls at your workplace and take the appropriate precautions.
Workers' Compensation and Pre-Existing Conditions
Many people are under the false impression that they cannot collect workers' compensation benefits if they had a pre-existing condition before being injured at work. The good news is that this is not entirely true. If you have been injured at work, you may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits, regardless of whether you had a pre-existing condition. In fact, if you aggravated a previous injury while on the job, a qualified workers’ compensation attorney can help you get the benefits to which you are likely entitled under the law.
What is a Pre-Existing Condition?
For the purposes of this discussion on workers’ compensation, a pre-existing condition is a medical condition that you had before you were injured at work. It is important to note that a pre-existing condition does not have to be permanently disabling in order to be covered by workers' compensation. Even if your pre-existing condition was only temporary or minor, you may still be able to collect benefits if your workplace injury aggravated or worsened the condition.
California Workers' Compensation for Repetitive Stress Injuries
Workers' compensation is a program that provides benefits to workers who are injured or who contract an illness at work. In California, the workers' compensation program is administered by the Department of Industrial Relations. Workers' compensation insurance is mandatory for all employers in California with one or more employees. This includes part-time, seasonal, and migrant workers. Employees who are injured on the job may be entitled to receive medical treatment, disability benefits, and other types of benefits. On-the-job injuries include injuries that are caused by a singular event, as well as those that develop over time—more commonly known as “repetitive stress,” “repetitive strain,” or “repetitive motion” injuries.
Repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) are a type of injury that can occur when a person performs the same motion over and over again. RSIs can happen at work if a person is required to perform the same task repeatedly over the course of weeks, months, or even years. Some examples of jobs that may put workers at risk for RSIs include assembly line work, data entry, office work, and factory work.
How to Handle an On-The-Job Car Accident
If you were hurt in a car crash while you were driving for your job, you may have questions about who will pay for your injuries, especially if you have to miss work for any length of time. In most cases, you will probably qualify for workers' compensation benefits, which can help cover your medical costs and a percentage of your lost wages. The good news is that you might have other options for collecting additional compensation.
Steps to Take
The first thing you should do after a car accident is to seek medical attention, even if you do not think you were seriously hurt. After all, some injuries, such as whiplash, may not be immediately apparent. Once you have been seen by a doctor and have a diagnosis of your injuries, you can start the process of filing a workers' compensation claim.
To begin your claim, you will also need to report the accident and your injuries to your employer. If your employer carries workers' compensation insurance, then you should be covered for your medical expenses and a portion of your lost wages. All employers in California are required by law to have this type of coverage, so if yours does not, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit directly against the company for whom you work.
What Must I Prove to Qualify for Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
In the state of California, workers’ compensation benefits are intended to help workers who have been hurt on the job get their medical bills paid and receive payment for lost wages. The workers’ compensation system is not based on fault. You can often get workers’ compensation benefits even if your own negligence led to your injuries. You are not able to sue your employer for work injuries in most cases
Before you can receive workers’ compensation benefits, you will need to prove you are a covered employee under California law and that you were injured in the course of your job. You will also need to demonstrate the extent of your injuries.
Are You Covered?
The law, in most cases, will assume that you are covered by the workers’ compensation system. Workers’ compensation generally only applies to employees. If your employer believes you are an independent contractor instead of an employee, your employer will need to prove that you are not an employee. In such a case, you may need to show why you believe you are an employee.
What You Should Know About Radiation Exposure in the Workplace
Radiation is a form of energy that travels through space in waves. The sun, for example, produces massive amounts of radiation in the form of heat and light upon which we rely for our very existence. Similarly, a microwave oven uses radiation to agitate water molecules in food, which, in turn, heats the food, leaving it perfectly safe to eat. Even the music you hear coming from the speakers in your car is being transmitted to your ear as radio waves—yet another form of radiation. Some kinds of radiation, however, are not quite so benign, and they have the power to cause injury and even death.
Every day, thousands of workers in hundreds of different jobs are exposed to various types of radiation in the course of their work. If you have been exposed to unsafe levels of radiation and you have suffered illness or injury as a result, you may be entitled to collect workers’ compensation benefits.
Workplace Injuries in the Nursing Industry
It almost goes without saying that workplace injuries can happen in any industry. However, some professionals are more likely to experience an injury than others. For example, the construction industry is well known for its high rate of work injuries and fatalities. There is also another high-risk industry – the healthcare field—but it does not receive the same amount of attention as it should. Perhaps this is due, in part, to the reduced risk of immediate fatality from an injury. Whatever the reason for the lack of discussion may be, injuries in the healthcare field deserve to be talked about.
Nurses Are Especially Prone to Back Injuries
On any given day, a nurse can cumulatively lift thousands of pounds. They must move patients and may even be required to help a person up that has passed out or fallen. Rarely is there equipment nearby to help – and even when there is, the situation may be too emergent to wait for the machinery to do its job. So, nurses lift. They bend. They lift and bend, all at the same time. Good body mechanics can help, but it is far from fail-proof.
Workers’ Compensation and Suing Your Employer
Every year, nearly three million American workers are hurt on the job. These injuries cost U.S. companies tens of billions of dollars in reduced productivity, to say nothing of the costs related to treating the injured workers and helping them recover. With this in mind, the workers’ compensation system was developed to help ensure that injured employees receive financial benefits to cover their medical expenses, the costs associated with retraining for new jobs, and a percentage of their lost wages. While workers’ compensation benefits are available and suitable for most work injury cases, you might be wondering if you have the ability to sue your employer for additional compensation.
Fault Is Not a Consideration
In California, as in other states, the workers’ compensation program is set up as a no-fault system that affords certain protections for employees in the event that they get hurt at work. As a no-fault system, workers’ compensation benefits are meant to be available without regard to whether an injury is caused by the negligence or actions of the injured employee or the employer. If an injured employee had to prove negligence on the part of the employer in order to collect benefits, far fewer workers’ compensation claims would ever be paid, and thousands of injured employees would be left without much hope of collecting anything.
Top 4 Types of Workplace Accidents in Office Buildings
When you think of Workers’ Compensation, you are likely to picture people who work on construction sites or in the oil fields, not at a desk. Certainly, those who are working around dangerous machinery, heavy equipment, or dangerous chemicals are more likely to get hurt on the job. However, it is not just blue-collar tradesmen and manual laborers who sustain workplace injuries. Office employees can also be injured at work, and they just as eligible for Workers’ Compensation as any other type of worker.
While you may be statistically much safer sitting behind a desk in an office, white-collar professionals can and do get injured at work. If you have been injured while working in an office building, you may want to speak to a lawyer for help with the process of getting Workers’ Compensation.
Injuries Office Workers Are at Risk For
What Kind of Proof Helps in a Workers' Compensation Case?
Evidence is everything in a Workers’ Compensation claim. In order to prove your case, you will need to show not only that your injury is genuine, but that it is work-related and prevents you from performing your job duties. One way that some employers will try to wriggle out of paying Workers’ Compensation is by arguing that an employee’s injury could have happened elsewhere or been caused by something other than your work. Gathering the right evidence, and quickly, can make or break a Workers’ Compensation case. It is important to speak with an attorney as soon as possible after getting hurt on the job so that they can advise you on what type of proof to gather, both right away, and while you are away from work recovering.
Types of Evidence You May Need for Workers’ Compensation
The path to getting compensation for a routine work injury is meant to be a bit more streamlined than the path to getting compensation for say, a car accident or a slip-and-fall. However, this is not always the case. Some employers are quite cooperative and will readily help an injured worker recover these payments. Others will fight back and try anything to get out of paying.
From our office in Gilroy, CA we serve clients throughout Northern California including but not limited to San Jose, Santa Cruz, Salinas, Monterey, Watsonville, Morgan Hill, San Martin, Hollister, San Felipe, Dunneville, San Juan Batista, River Oaks, Sargent, Cottage Corners, Logan, Rucker, Santa Clara County, and San Benito County.
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