If you've been injured on the job, you're certainly not alone. According to a new FindLaw.com survey, more than one in five Americans say they have been injured on the job.
Here are some highlights from the survey and advice on how to deal with on-the-job injuries:
The Most Common Workplace Injuries
Far from the popular notion that on-the-job injuries are limited to manufacturing and construction work, the survey reveals that the vast majority of injuries involve slip-and-fall accidents, repetitive motion injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, and other musculoskeletal injuries.
Here's a breakdown of the types of injuries workers suffered:
- Falling/slipping: 31 percent
- Repetitive motion: 20 percent (e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome)
- Injured by machinery or struck by object: 17 percent
- Motor vehicle accident: 12 percent
- Other musculoskeletal injury: 37 percent (e.g., overexertion, lifting, back pain, etc.)
- Workplace violence: 5 percent
- Burn (heat or chemical): 3 percent
- Other: 9 percent
Note: The figures total more than 100 percent because of multiple injuries.
Most troubling of all, 21 percent of American adults say that they have suffered an injury while on the job that was serious enough for them to take time off of work.
Eligible for Workers' Comp?
Workers' compensation, known commonly as "workers' comp" or "workmans' comp," provides a system by which employees and their families can submit claims for job-related injuries, illness, and even death and receive compensation without litigation.
Although the workers' compensation system does not cover all injuries, it does generally cover the types of injuries that topped FindLaw's survey.
For example, repetitive motion injuries -- including repetitive stress injuries, cumulative trauma disorders, and repeated motion injuries -- that are caused by or aggravated due to working conditions will likely be covered by workers' comp.
The same goes for slip-and-fall injuries -- even ones due to your own negligence, because workers' comp is a no-fault insurance.
If you have questions about a work-related injury and whether you can receive workers' comp, you may want to consult an experienced workers' comp attorney in your area.
Related Resources:
- Workers' Compensation Basics (FindLaw)
- Pepper-Spraying Cop Gets $38K in Workers' Comp (FindLaw's Injured)
- Do You Need a Lawyer for a Workers' Comp Case? (FindLaw's Injured)
- Elevator Mechanic Awarded $11.7M for Injury (FindLaw's Injured)
