Some of the Most Common Workplace Accidents and Injuries

Hundreds and thousands of accidents take place in workplaces all across the United States every year. Accidents leading to injury are strictly treated by the court of law, and the business owners are penalized for any shortcomings in safety procedures required by the OSHA.

Every business owner should try to remain on the right side of the law as far as precautions are concerned because a single accident can lead to a lot of bad rapport. Here we mention some of the most common accidents in the workplaces that both employees and managers should know of.

With this information, you can take measures to avert or minimize the damage from these accidents so that your business and reputation remain safe.

Slips, Trips, and Falls

Regardless of the kind of job you do or the work setting you operate in, you are bound to encounter slippery surfaces at one point or another. Workers in construction sites, factories, or offices can encounter slippery surfaces at any time.

With the presence of such surfaces, there is always a remote possibility that you might trip and fall over on one. The injuries you suffer can depend on the severity of the fall and the protective gear you were wearing.

Employees are also at risk of falling from great heights or ladders. Such falls can cause major injuries, and they often necessitate the need to hire an attorney. If you have employees working on dangerous job sites, you must provide them with the necessary safety equipment and training to make their jobs less hazardous.

Muscle Strains

Anyone who is made to lift heavy items at the workplace can easily suffer from a strained muscle at any given time. Working with heavy weights can be quite a strenuous task if your body isn’t conditioned to do such kind of work.

A worker could suffer a back or neck sprain if they are lifting heavy weights at the workplace. What should be noted here is that the risk of lifting heavy weights can be averted with the right practices.

You can restrict your workers from getting strains in the neck and back muscles by giving them proper training on how to lift weights properly. Improper techniques for lifting weight will more often than not cause strain within your body.

Hit by Falling Objects

Plenty of workers in the office space get injured by falling objects. The severity of the injury in such situations depends on the weight of the object that is falling. If the weight of the object is on the heavier side, the injuries can prove fatal.

Injuries of this nature were first reported at ports and construction sites, where containers and brick loads would fall on workers. However, the adherence to numerous safety procedures has meant that these injuries have currently decreased in numbers.

Employers that don’t have the right procedures for transporting heavy loads safely can be taken to court for their neglect towards workers.

Crashes and Collisions

Accidents involving crashes and collisions are also quite frequent in the modern workplace. Regardless of whether they involve cars, smaller vehicles, lorries, or forklift trucks, crashes between vehicles can cause immediate danger to human life.

While some of these accidents arise due to neglect and human error, others happen because of machine malfunctioning or any other unavoidable cause. Employers should ensure that all of their operators are professionals and know how to operate heavy machinery and vehicles. Someone who isn’t properly trained in operating a forklift, for instance, would not be able to maintain the required safety standard.

Cuts and Lacerations

Cuts and lacerations are quite common among employees, whether they’re working at the corporate office or a factory. Be it a paper trimmer or a power saw, devices or accessories capable of inflicting cuts surround the workplace. The gravity of the cut and the damage it has caused would eventually depend on the accessory that caused the cut.

It is obvious that a cut caused by a power saw would be more dangerous and serious than a cut caused by a paper trimmer. In both cases, however, it is necessary that the management has the right first-aid and safety equipment required for dealing with the injury as and when it happens.

Inhaling Toxic Fumes

While most workers aren’t exposed to toxic fumes, the experts working in chemical industries are often exposed to fumes that are particularly toxic for the human body. These fumes not only cause damage to our respiratory organs, but they can also inflict serious damage to our skin, eyes, and other organs.

Employers should make sure that if they are working in an environment with toxic fumes, then all workers should be asked to wear protective gear. It should be ensured that the workers don’t fall ill because of the fumes and are able to manage them without any repercussions whatsoever.

Physical Confrontations

Many of you reading this might consider physical confrontations and fights at the workplace to be quite rare. But, let us tell you that these aren’t as rare as you think. Fights in the workplace can happen because of all kinds of reasons.

Politics in the workplace can lead to a lot of bad blood between numerous employees, which might end up in a physical altercation of sorts.

Unsurprisingly, fights that happen in the workplace can lead to nasty injuries. It is up to the management to ensure that these fights are nipped in the bud before they turn into a physical altercation. The grievances of both parties should be addressed, before a verdict is passed out.

At Cherry Injury Law, our accident lawyer in PA will negotiate aggressively for you and help bring you the best possible outcome after every accident. If you’ve been injured at workplace, get in-touch with us right away and let us help you seek an adequate compensation for your injuries.