Minnesota workers may be interested to know that work-related traumatic brain injuries do not only occur in more dangerous environments, such as construction sites or during power line work, but in office environments as well. These sorts of accidents can occur due to carelessness and disregard of basic safety procedures such as placing wet floor signs when a spill happens or removing objects from walkways. Roughly one out of every five workers who receive a TBI do so by falling. This occurs either by tripping due to an uneven surface or out of place objects or by slipping on wet surfaces.
Falls are overtaking car accidents as the leading cause of TBIs at work. This could be due to the fact the America’s workforce is aging. There are more workers over 65 now than there has been in the past. The number, in fact, has more than doubled over the last 30 years.
Though a TBI can happen at any workplace, certain industries, particularly those that are mostly outdoors or that rely on the use of heavy equipment, tend to be more prone to TBIs than others. Higher risk industries include forestry, transportation, agriculture, fishing, construction and emergency medical services. Employees in these industries need to be sure to take precautionary measures in order to ensure that they do not incur a TBI. Preventative measure should include always observing proper safety practices and procedures such as wearing hard hats, cleaning up any wet surfaces that may lead to slipping and keeping objects away from walkways as much as possible.
If an accident on the job occurs, an attorney who has experience with workers’ compensation cases may be able to help clients gain financial compensation for expenses that stem from their injuries. These benefits may include medical bill payment or reimbursement and lost income.
Source: BrainInjuryInstitute.org, “Workplace Accident”, November 03, 2014