Workplace injuries are unfortunately a common occurrence that can cost you time off work resulting in lost wages or even a permanent disability. Some workplace injuries even take the life of workers, leaving families without their breadwinner. If you or a loved one suffered a serious workplace injury on the job in Everett, contacting a reputable and experienced personal injury attorney is important – the sooner, the better.
What Work Places Are Most Prone to Worker Injuries?
The more dangerous the worksite and working conditions, the more likely you are to be injured, but even workers in offices and retail establishments in Everett can incur serious on the job injuries. Here are some of the major industries and employers in Everett where workers are injured:
- Aircraft manufacturers
- Components manufacturers
- Electronics manufacturers
- Communications companies
- Hospital and healthcare centers
- Construction companies
- Subcontractors working on job sites in a construction setting
- Retail centers
- Offices
What Are the Most Common Workplace Injuries?
And in these workplaces, workplace injuries vary from the less serious that you can easily recover from, to the more serious and even fatal. The most common workplace injuries in Everett include:
- Falls – These can happen on stairs, off of roofs and ladders, slippery floors or due to obstructed walkways. Falls can sprain or break legs, arms, fracture your spine or even result in death.
- Struck by an object – This happens when you strike something with your body or a moving object strikes you. Retail workers, those on construction and manufacturing sites and even office workers can be struck by things that can seriously injure them.
- Caught or trapped –Workers in manufacturing plants are often caught in or trapped by machinery and seriously injured. Truck drivers may be trapped between trailer and tractor or other pieces of equipment.
- Skeletal injuries – Restaurant and healthcare workers, retail and sanitation workers are all at risk for lift and strain type of injuries to the skeleton, some of them very serious and can debilitate and permanently impair your ability to work.
Construction workers and truck drivers are the most often injured workers, but there are plenty of other serious injuries in many other industries and occupations. Often there are situations where a man lift malfunctions on a job site or a worker is injured when they had no fall protection due to an oversight by a general contractor.
What Types of Compensation Can Injured Workers Claim?
First and foremost, worker’s compensation is the place to turn for a claim for a worker injured on the job. This should cover medical treatment for your injury and wages lost due to time off of work. But in addition to worker’s compensation, you may be eligible for damages from third parties that may have contributed to your injury through poor materials, inadequate maintenance, faulty repairs and other causes.
You are entitled to make an L&I claim for your injuries and your employer is not allowed to prevent or discourage you from filing for the benefits you’re entitled to after you suffer a serious injury. While you can’t sue your employer, Washington’s Title 51 was designed to compensate you after an injury. However, you can sue a “third party”, meaning someone who is not part of your employer’s employment. You can sue another employer whose employee is negligent and caused you to suffer an injury on the jobsite.
You have the right to sue or bring a claim against another employer. Examples include:
(1) If you work construction, general contractors that run sites are responsible for ensuring worksites are safe. A general contractor has a duty to enforce all safety regulations. If the general contractor or owner in control of the job site fails to enforce safety regulations or creates a dangerous and unsafe conditions which causes you to suffer an injury, then they are liable for injuries to employees and independent contractors, including you or a loved one.
(2) If you are a police or firefighter and are injured because of an employer’s negligence, any injury caused to you an on the job by your employer or a fellow coworker is recoverable. You are allowed to pursue a lawsuit or claim against your employer under Title 51 in contrast to others.
How Do I Protect My Rights After Being Injured on the Job?
For any on the job injury that needs more treatment than a Band-Aid or ice pack, you’ll need to immediately get medical treatment. Your doctor or hospital visits, x-rays, treatment and medication should all be covered by worker’s compensation. If you miss time from work, your L&I claim should cover that as well.
But if you are injured seriously, after dialing 911, you should contact a reputable Everett attorney with experience in worker’s compensation cases. A substantial settlement is usually best obtained with an advocate working on your behalf who understands the system and what compensation you should be entitled to.
What Are Some of the Effects of Workplace Injuries?
Short term effects of a workplace injury can be a sprain or strain that requires rest and lighter duties. More intense injuries may see you missing time off of work and needing follow-up medical care or physical therapy. Serious injuries can mean days, weeks or months in the hospital and off work, may require surgery or cause permanent disability or even death.
You may experience post-injury headaches, stress, sleep problems and recurring pain. All of these potential post-injury circumstances underscore why you need an experienced injury attorney working for you. Contact our office as soon as possible after a serious workplace injury, rather than rushing back to work. You can even call while you’re still in the hospital and Rob can tell you what your options are, how he can help you and the best course to follow to protect your family’s finances and your future. You only have three years to file a workplace injury claim, so call now.