Workplace Injuries: Your Guide to the Way Forward
Workplace accidents are sudden and jarring - often occuring when you are expecting to have a normal day at your job. In a heartbeat, everything can change. It could be a simple thing, like walking on a floor that was just slicked up and should have had a cone around it. It could be a motion that, for years, has been innocuous and then suddenly becomes a blaze of pain shooting up your arm. It might be the machine you have been working with for many years suddenly fails.
Whatever the cause, injury and pain at work can be life-altering. The first few minutes after an accident are typically characterized by shock and confusion. Questions arise in your head: “How could this have happened? Was it my own doing? Should I keep working? What should I do now?”
If you have been injured at the workplace, you need to physically recover so that you can have a long and productive career. It's tempting to ignore the injury and pretend that it's not a big deal. Your employer and their insurer would prefer that, but it's not the best outcome for you. You need someone in your corner who is going to advocate for your needs, and get you what you need to recover.
Varieties of Workplace Injuries and Their Causes
- Slip and Fall Accidents: There are lots of reasons you might slip: Water, oil, cleaning-products, improper signage, or poorly maintained floors, are just some of the reasons that you might be injured by a fall on the job. Ladders and falls from a height are the most common source of injury and death for construction workers.
- Repetitive Strain Injuries: This one is sneaky. You never even considered that typing could cause so much pain. The dull pain in your wrist gradually transitions into a painful cry. You begin to wonder if every keystroke is causing the injury to worsen, and you start to panic about what this will mean for your work and life without pain.
- Machinery and Equipment Accidents: Machines can cause damage when they malfunction. Heavy parts can cause blunt force injuries, damage fingers, and break toes when dropped.
- Harmful Substances: Chemicals can irritate your skin, lungs, eyes and cause itching, burning, and rashes in the short term, and much more complex organ damage in the future. Protective equipment is not always supplied or sufficient to protect you.
Workplace Injury Liability: Who is responsible?
After the immediate medical issues from a workplace accident are taken care of, it is time to proceed to the next crucial step—to determine who is responsible for this injury. At first, it may seem that dealing with feelings of blame or anger is too much to handle; it is tempting to ignore the situation or blame yourself. However, it is important to note that your action in determining the cause might not only help you, it will help others from suffering in the future as well. Some of the parties who may be held liable include:
- Employers: Have they met the legal requirements of safety in the workplace? Have they provided you with adequate training? If they failed to do this, they could be legally responsible.
- Equipment Manufacturers: If equipment caused an accident, can it mean someone else was negligent?
- Contractors or Subcontractors: On large construction sites where many individuals are involved, it is possible that negligence does not lie exclusively with one person.
- Property Owners: If there is an injury on leased property premises, this may lead to another round of liability beyond that of your employer.
Calculating Your Recovery From A Workplace Injury
During these times of doubt, when you start feeling uncertain about yourself and angry about lost wages or physical capabilities you once had—the future can seem murky. It may appear as though being hurt not only results in physical suffering but also affects every aspect of life and finding ways to cope with change becomes challenging.
It is vital to achieve a full recovery that you have the time and rest to recover from your injuries. Often there is pressure to return to work prematurely because the income is necessary for living expenses. But the long-term impact of an injury might limit your ability to work in the future, or limit your ability to take career advancements or more challenging roles.
In calculating your recovery, you need someone with the experience to understand the full extent the financial impact you have suffered - beyond just medical bills. Pain and suffering, lost wages, lost earning potential and compensation for lifestyle adjustments are some of the factors your attorney will go over with you in understanding how to determine the extent of liability.
Building a case
Although it may seem there is no light at the end of the tunnel, achieving proper resolution is possible with professional investigators' help who ensure sufficient evidence supports your claim:
- Medical Experts: These experts examine injury severity and likely impact over short- and medium-term periods—crucial information necessary for court proceedings ensuring appropriate compensation amounts are secured.
- Industry Experts: These experts determine if workplace standards compliance existed during incidents while identifying critical legal violation evidence related directly back into safety rules failures present previously uncovered elsewhere potentially damaging cases before formally addressed thereafter hopefully avoided entirely afterward eventually altogether!
- A Qualified Attorney: Your lawyer will handle gathering evidence, hiring the right experts, negotiate with insurance companies, and build a case should you need to go to trial. Your attorney is the central player in getting you a financial recovery so you can get the time and medical care you need.
Finding Support
At Sun Law AZ led by attorney Todd Lenczycki—with 15 years' devoted experience—you’ll discover more than just legal expertise but compassionate understanding too—a pillar offering strength amidst challenges arising post-injury at work. Let us guide you toward achieving a recovery that lets you get on with your life and career. Reach out today: Contact Todd Lenczycki at Sun Law AZ at (480) 264-0045 or email contact@sunlawaz.com.