If you have a work-related injury, we can help you find the right medical specialist for treatment. Contact us at Workers Comp Doctor today at (888) 533-0870 for assistance.
Every day, employees sustain injuries at their job sites. Employers pay for workers’ compensation insurance to financially protect injured employees. However, many common work injuries are avoidable, so workers and employees don’t have to spend precious time and money adjusting to the aftermath of a workplace accident.
Finding New York City’s top workers’ compensation doctor can be challenging, but our team at Workers Comp Doctor makes it easy. Our doctor-locating service can help anyone with common workplace injuries connect with specialized workers’ compensation specialists near your home or job.
Accidents can happen anytime. We discuss the most common injuries below that employees could avoid.
1. Trips, Slips, and Falls
The most common work injuries across multiple injuries come from slips, trips, and falls. About one-third of workplace injuries result from those accidents. After a fall or trip, workers could sustain neck or back injuries, pulled muscles, or bone fractures.
Slick surfaces, loose rugs, and icy steps often cause people to slip while walking. People can trip on wrinkled carpeting, loose cords on the ground, insufficient lighting, and uneven walking surfaces.
Workplaces should focus on housekeeping to keep flooring dry, clear, and free of uneven surfaces to prevent slip-and-fall accidents. If the job site has wet or oily floors due to the nature of the work, like a restaurant, employees should wear appropriate closed-toe shoes with rubber soles to prevent slips. If employees see a potential hazard like clutter on the floor, loose cables, or a spill, they should report it immediately.
2. Repetitive Stress
Overexertion or repetitive stress injuries are highly common in industries where workers repeatedly make the same bodily movements. An example could be an office worker who spends hours working on a computer every day. Positioning the hands over a keyboard and constantly moving each finger could cause repetitive stress on the wrists, leading to carpal tunnel syndrome.
Other causes of repetitive stress and overexertion include:
- Not taking breaks during shifts
- Improperly lifting heavy objects
- Manually lifting heavy objects without support
- Poor posture when sitting or standing
Repetitive stress injuries consist of over 100 types of job-related injuries that could cause chronic, debilitating pain. Employees also experience stiffness, throbbing pain, numbness, or swelling in their affected joints.
Protecting yourself and avoiding these injuries can be as simple as taking regular breaks during each shift to prevent long-term repetitious movements. Investing in ergonomic keyboards, desks, and seating may also help you work comfortably without unnecessary strain.
When lifting, lift from the knees instead of using your back muscles. Use mechanical lifting equipment for items over 50 pounds.
3. Exposure to Harmful Substances
Employees working with hazardous chemicals or at excessively loud worksites are most likely to have common work injuries to their respiratory systems, eyes, ears, and skin. Due to these work environments, employees would need to protect themselves proactively. For instance, workers in loud factories may develop hearing problems if they don’t take the necessary precautions.
Workers should always wear ear protection like ear plugs or noise-canceling headphones to protect their ears from irreparable damage while working at loud job sites. When working with chemicals, employees should familiarize themselves with all chemical safety data sheets and wear protective gear.
4. Fires and Explosions
Two of the most devastating but common work injuries are fires and explosions. The flames’ heat can quickly burn body tissues, and breathing in toxic smoke can damage the respiratory system. Though fires and explosions don’t occur as often as other workplace accidents, severe injuries may be preventable.
High-order explosions can injure you during their blast wave. However, a secondary blast injury stems from flying debris from the blast wind. A tertiary blast injury comes from structural collapse, while quaternary blast injuries encompass everything from radiation damage to toxic fume inhalation.
The best way to prevent these injuries is to follow all OSHA guidelines for hazard communication standards, which include training on chemical labels and safety data sheets. Wearing personal protective equipment like eye protection and gloves is also ideal for working with chemicals or fire.
5. Work Vehicle Accidents
Sometimes, jobs require their employees to drive to different locations. Unfortunately, drivers can get into an auto collision in a company car as easily as they could in their personal vehicle. Injuries from a crash can be minor, fatal, or somewhere in between.
When driving, it’s crucial to follow all roadway laws, including maintaining speed limits and braking on time for passing vehicles and pedestrians. It may also be helpful to avoid streets where accidents, traffic, or pedestrian crossings are common to reduce the risk of an accident.
6. Blows From Equipment, Colleagues, or Falling Objects
The construction industry is one of many high-risk work environments. In high-risk environments, injuries from minor accidents, like hitting your hand on a sharp corner or walking into a wall, tend to be more severe. For instance, common work injuries for construction workers include bone fractures, severed fingers, and traumatic head injuries due to:
- Poor handling of heavy machinery and cutting tools
- Tools and debris falling from high places
- Employees walking into machinery
- Workers bumping into machinery
The best way to avoid minor accidents with significant consequences is to have environmental awareness. Always be aware of your surroundings, and don’t forget to follow all policies for handling machinery and walking around scaffolds, elevated worksites, and other structures.
Let Us Help You Get the Care You Need
Using Workers Comp Doctors, you or a loved one can quickly find a medical professional in New York City and beyond to address your workplace injury. Each doctor within our free directory is an authorized NYS WCB (NYS Workers Compensation Board) medical provider. These physicians, pain management specialists, surgeons, orthopedic specialists, and other medical professionals have years of experience treating common work injuries and filing compensation benefits.
Learn about our pain management services and other specialties on our Workers Comp Doctors’ directory. Then, call (888) 533-0870 to start your search for the best workers’ compensation doctor near you.
