Fortunately, in the last decade or so, fatal workplace injuries have declined. However, workplace injuries, both significant and minor, still happen across a wide range of professional industries.
From construction sites and professional kitchens to medical settings and transportation environments, these injuries can occur due to several reasons and at any time.
But what are the most common work injuries? Equipping yourself with this knowledge can give you a solid foundation for your approach should these situations arise in your profession.
Exposure to Harmful Substances and Environments
In recent years, employee exposure to certain harmful substances and even environments has significantly risen. The numbers have increased so much since 2020 that exposure has become the leading cause of work-related injuries.
Of course, we can attribute this fact to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, workers are being exposed to diseases, viruses, and illnesses that can have lasting impacts on an employee’s well-being, as well as the number of days they lose on the job.
Exposure-related injuries can also include contact with hazardous chemicals and toxic fumes, which can cause skin and eye reactions. These injuries are particularly prevalent in areas where proper protective gear is not enforced.
Overexertion
Overexertion workplace injuries happen when employees have given too much physical effort. This situation tends to come up most often with older employees and those who work in very physical jobs, such as warehousing and transportation.
Overexertion injuries include any harm done without impact. Most people who suffer these injuries are likely to stress or strain their body parts from physical activity like heavy lifting, throwing, or carrying over and over again.
Most people who suffer from overexertion injuries feel it most in their back, as those are muscles that take the brunt of the work. Rest is often the only thing that can help this injury meaning employees must take days or weeks off from work.
Slips and Falls
Slips and falls make up about 12 percent of total falls and account for over one million hospital room visits, and they are also common work injuries. For employees age 55 and older, this type of injury makes up the majority of all workplace compensation claims.
Slips and falls can happen in many industries and occur in public locations like restrooms, government buildings, parking lots, staircases, kitchens, and more.
A nasty slip or fall can lead to a series of serious injuries, including sprains, broken bones, concussions, neck injuries, and back injuries. Some significant falls can lead to hospital visits or even emergency surgery.
Workers may be eligible for worker's compensation if a slip and fall happens on their employer's property. It’s especially crucial to explore legal actions if the injury caused someone to take extended time off of work that impacts their livelihood.
Lacerations
A laceration is any wound on the skin that happened due to blunt trauma. Lacerations can occur in kitchens, on construction sites, and in warehousing gigs, to name a few. Environments with hazardous equipment can lead to serious injuries as far as amputations.
Small cuts and lacerations can lead to stitches, hospital visits, permanent nerve damage, and more - all of which impact working schedules and daily life.
Crashes
Transportation workers are among the top professionals to suffer from workplace injuries. Not only do many transportation employees often participate in physical job demands such as heavy lifting, constant motion, and carrying things repetitively, but they’re also at risk for vehicle crashes.
With the rise of delivery services, from goods to food and everything in between, there has been an increase in demand for transportation workers. But the bustle of a busy day on the road paired with long hours and reckless drivers can lead to traffic accidents.
Traffic accidents can cause a variety of injuries, from minor aches and pains to life-threatening incidents. A bad car wreck can land an employee in the hospital for days or weeks at a time, taking them out of work and leaving them with hefty hospital bills.
Contact with Equipment
Equipment-related work happens less these days than it used to, but it still makes up a good percentage of common work injuries. Contact with equipment and objects is an umbrella term that covers moving objects hitting workers, equipment pinching or crushing workers, and injury from vibration.
Employees who suffer from an injury due to equipment or objects on a worksite can suffer from a wide range of ailments and may be due compensation for their physical suffering.
Brandon J. Broderick, New York Workers Compensation Lawyers
At Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, we are dedicated to assisting clients throughout the New York City metro area and throughout New York state with their workers’ compensation cases. We have years of experience and the extensive resources you need to secure a fair case result.
If you’ve been injured or your claim has recently been denied, contact us immediately for a free consultation to understand your options.