Tag Archives: repetitive motion

TOP TEN MOST COMMON WORKPLACE INJURIES (GUEST POST)

 Every day nationwide, 12 people don’t come home from work. Workplace incidents kill over 4000 workers per year, when all they were trying to do was their job. Millions more per year are injured at work and over 3 million of those never recover from their injuries. Here are the top ten work-related injuries in the US, according to insurance statistics, starting with number 10. 

10. On the Job Violence – Nearly 30 years ago, in Edmond, Oklahoma, a disgruntled postal worker shot and killed 15 people, including himself, and wounded 6 others. Congress determined that the US Postal Service could have and should have taken steps to prevent the tragedy. The term “going postal,” was coined shortly thereafter to describe any incident where an individual loses control and causes mayhem and violence. 

The horrific violence of that day became a springboard for other disgruntled employees, who now account for nearly 500 workplace fatalities per year, mostly by shooting. Injuries from violence in the workplace are an astounding 15-16 injuries per 1000 working. The violence ranges from assault to rape. 

To prevent violence in the workplace, employers need to establish protocols in the event of violence or suspicious activities and train employees to be able to recognize potentially dangerous situations or environments. 

9. Repetitive Motion  – The Medieval working conditions of the 19th & early 20th Century didn’t concern itself with a silly injury such as this. Your back pain, sensory problems, or carpal tunnel syndrome were just good reasons to fire you and replace you with another able body willing to be broken. 

We may be a little more enlightened today but employers still need to make sure that procedures and equipment are ergonomically designed for the least amount of repetitive motion. When this isn’t feasible, then a rotation cycle between jobs needs to be in place to prevent this injury. 

8. Machinery – Nothing is quite as frightening than when a machine latches on to hair, clothing, fingers, or limbs and begins to devour the person attached.

 Employers need to have policies, procedures, and dress codes in place that minimize this type of accident. Additionally, emergency shut-off and back-up controls need to be easily accessible. 

7. Vehicles – Other than specific laws, public service announcements, law-enforcement, and backseat drivers, nobody monitors bad drivers. Consequently, accidents or “inevitabilities” occur. 

Employers can monitor the driving habits of their employees who drive for business by establishing certain driving policies, training, and reporting systems that reinforce good driving habits. 

6. Impacts – These are the injuries that may initially invoke a laugh when someone stubs a toe, walks into a wall, bumps into the corner of a table, or backs into a piece of equipment. It actually isn’t funny, especially when the impact causes serious head trauma or contusions.

Employers should play an active role in keeping walkways clear and welcoming feedback on existing hazardous conditions. Any hazardous condition should be rectified immediately. 

5. Falling Objects – Falling objects may be common in construction zones where hard hats are required at all times but one may not think to be wary in the office or in a retail environment. A case of copy paper falling from the storage shelf or a number 10 can falling from the top shelf of a grocery store may not be common enough to require hard hats in the office or grocery store but they do occur. 

Employers in all lines of work need to be wary of any existing condition where objects can potentially fall and injure an employee. Altering conditions and establishing policies can reduce this type of injury. 

4. Slipping and Tripping without Falling – Whew! You almost fell. That might have been less painful however, than the involuntary twisting and wrenching of your muscles, tendons, and other tissues trying to avoid the fall. These events can cause debilitating injuries and conditions that may cause you to lose work or need long-term medical attention. 

3. Falling from Heights – Taking a tumble off a ladder, scaffold, roof, or stairway, can cause severe injury, with head trauma being the most serious. Some jobs that carry the constant threat of falling will usually take extra precautions to alleviate that risk. However, many falls occur while performing simple tasks like changing a light bulb or carrying a box down a flight of stairs. 

Employers should create policy and procedures that take into consideration inherent dangers in the workplace. Employees should not ignore policy, no matter how skilled they feel they may be without safety equipment or procedures.

2. Slipping, Tripping, and Falling  Slippery floors, uneven surfaces, or out of place objects and equipment in walkways can cause slips and falls that can result in serious injury. 

Employers should make sure chronic problems such as uneven surfaces or items left in walk areas are rectified and solved. Policies regarding spills and wet surfaces, including having hazard markers, need to be in place. Employees should be aware of their environment at all times. 

1. Overexertion – And the number one work related injury is overexertion. Any physical activity that hasn’t been replaced by a machine, such as lifting, pushing, carrying, throwing, or pulling has the potential for exertion injury. Overexertion may ultimately be a relative term since it differs from person to person. However, anytime someone pushes himself or herself beyond physical capacity, injury may be imminent. 

Employers should be aware of all exertion regulations and not expect employees to push themselves beyond those guidelines. 

Conclusion 

Workplace injuries and deaths may seem inevitable, but by improving the safety surrounding the inevitable situation or removing that situation altogether could diminish their frequency. Employers and employees need to play an active role in making this happen. 

This piece was written by Kurt Dowdle, a writer for http://naqvilaw.com, a personal injury firm in Las Vegas, NV.

FOUR COMMON WORK INJURIES AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEM (GUEST POST)

It’s a pretty well-known fact that some industries have naturally higher risks for on-the-job injuries. Things like factory work, construction sites, and building/manual labor present a bigger change for someone to get hurt while they’re at work. Obviously, no one wants to get hurt at work, and for that reason, OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has policies in effect that help to regulate work conditions and help prevent injury. In order to avoid being injured on the job, it’s helpful to know what the most common injuries are and how to prevent them from happening.

1. Overexertion Injuries

In jobs that require hard labor like heavy lifting, carrying, building, or throwing, workers are susceptible to overexertion injuries like pulled muscles, sprains, back injuries, or even heart attack. Employers should have policies in place to prevent injuries like these—employees need proper training for lifting and should report any aches or pains to the job’s supervisors. Encourage employees to take breaks if they are feeling exhausted from a particular task to avoid straining muscles, and hold regular training sessions to reinforce workplace safety.

2. Slipping and Falling, or Falling from Heights

Slips and falls are all too common. They can be caused by:

  •          an employee losing footing
  •          uneven ground
  •          spills

Slippery floors should be cleaned immediately, wet floors should have wet floor signs, and if floors are uneven, there should be caution signs posted until the floor is fixed—or better yet, that part of the building should be off limits until it is safe.  If an employee slips and falls, an incident report should be filed, and that employee should seek medical care to prevent further injury. As for falling from heights, such as off of ladders or roofs, these are difficult accidents to prevent, but employees can use proper protection gear if it is available, like harnesses when working on roofs or windows on the sides of buildings. These can be slip-and-fall incidents, or they can be due to faulty equipment, like a ladder breaking.

Equipment should always be in excellent condition to provide optimal safety. When equipment is not maintained, the employer may be held liable for any workplace injuries, but in those cases, the employee will have to get a workers’ compensation lawyer involved for additional help.

3. Repetitive Motion Injuries

Repetitive motion injuries can be similar to overexertion injuries, but they also include things like office workers who experience pain and injury from things like typing, or mail carriers who frequently have to lift heavy boxes. These can be prevented by employers making sure that their employees have proper break schedules and aren’t overextending their abilities. For example, if a person can only lift 50 pounds, they shouldn’t be made to lift 75 pound boxes all day long—that is bound to cause injury sooner rather than later. Likewise, ergonomic solutions can help prevent office-related injuries.

4. Machine Entanglement

Machine entanglement, as you might imagine, is a rather gruesome work injury, but unfortunately, lax safety procedures mean that these types of injuries aren’t uncommon. Clothing, shoes, fingers, and hair are often left unprotected and can be quickly swept into the inner-workings of a machine, which can very swiftly cause severe injury or death.

Prevent these and other accidents by taking measures such as:

  •    wearing hairnets and close-fitting clothing
  •    being alert about your surroundings
  •    paying close attention to the task at hand

Taking these steps helps ensure that work injuries don’t occur, keeping responsible employees safe while simultaneously protecting their coworkers.

Bio: Steven J. Malman is the founder and President of Malman Law, a personal injury law firm in Chicago, Illinois. Steven has experience representing victims in personal injury, nursing home abuse and neglect, medical malpractice, workers’ compensation and premises liability cases.