Are You At Risk At Your Workplace?
Brian O Sutter
Premises Liability
Getting injured at work is something that no one hopes happens to them. And yet, at the same time, if it’s going to happen anywhere, work is the place with the highest likelihood, simply because many people spend eight or more hours, five days a week, in the workplace. Depending on the line of work, there are certain physical risks as well. But some workplace injuries are much more common than others. Are you at risk from any of these?Machine Injuries
This is an especially dangerous risk in factories that put people in proximity of large, industrial hardware. Anything that is designed to manipulate materials as quickly as possible can do untold damage to a human being when placed in the same situation. Depending on the type of hardware, machine-related accidents can result in limb loss or even death.
Repetitive Motion Injuries
While not as serious as limb loss, or death, repetitive motion injuries are incredibly common in today’s working world, across many different fields and industries. Workers in factories who constantly repeat the same assembly motions are just as prone to this as musicians playing their instruments, or office workers spending hours typing on a computer. This can eventually lead to permanently impaired movement.
Falling Objects
A particularly common injury in construction areas. Whenever you have people working with tools or other forms of equipment at great heights, and these tools are “loose,” that is, not attached to anything, there is always a risk of something getting knocked off and falling. It can be as small as a screw, or as large as a power tool, or even a girder in scaffolding. Whatever the case, falling objects can cause a lot of harm to the people below that get hit.
Fights
Unfortunately, this can—and does—happen in just about any workplace, regardless of the industry or occupation. Disagreements can occur, accusations can get heated, and sometimes it results in violence. There are, sadly, a lot of workplace injuries that have nothing to do with accidents and more to do with people trying to settle an issue with their fists.
Trips & Slips
This is, probably unsurprisingly, one of the most common causes of injuries in just about any workplace. An auto repair garage might leave a small pool of motor oil on the floor that someone doesn’t notice until he or she steps right on it and falls. Or a new computer installed in an office needs to have its power cable snake across the floor to a distant electrical outlet, creating a bump on the floor that anyone can trip over.
Any of these injuries can have devastating effects on a person that, through no fault of their own, may leave them unable to work. If you’ve been injured in the workplace and you know that you didn’t do anything to bring this injury upon yourself, then try talking to a lawyer experienced in workplace injuries. You may find that there’s more to your situation than just workplace compensation.