Common Workplace Injuries and How to Prevent Them

Every year, thousands of workers in the State of New Jersey visit emergency departments with serious injuries sustained within the course and scope of their employment. Recognizing the most common types of workplace injury lawyers in Union City and how they often occur can help you prevent them and keep yourself safe at your job.

Transportation Accidents

If a job requires workers to travel or operate vehicles or machinery, such as forklifts and trucks, this comes with a risk of car accidents in New Jersey. These accidents can be serious and cause catastrophic injuries, such as whiplash, internal injuries, spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries.

Work-related transportation accidents can be prevented by an employer hiring qualified and licensed drivers and teaching careful driving practices. Employees who drive for a living should report any safety violations, such as employers pressuring them to break hours-of-service rules or failing to perform routine vehicle maintenance.

Slip, Trip and Fall Injuries

Falls are one of the most prominent reasons behind worker emergency room visits in New Jersey. Slip and fall accidents can happen due to unsafe work conditions, such as uneven floor surfaces, wet floors, a lack of caution signs, improper footwear, inadequate lighting and cluttered walkways.

Preventing falls at work is a group effort. The employer must regularly inspect the workplace for potential fall hazards and ensure proper footwear, while workers must follow best practices for keeping walkways, ladders and scaffolds safe.

Contact Injuries

Many workplace injuries in New Jersey occur due to harmful contact between an employee and an object or element at work. This may include contact with a piece of heavy machinery, equipment, cranes, a work vehicle, or falling or flying objects. Contact-related accidents can be prevented with proper safety training, warning signs and machine guarding.

Exposure to Harmful Substances

Many jobs in New Jersey involve materials, substances and chemicals that are not safe for frequent exposure. Examples include asbestos, talcum powder, coal dust, fumes and harmful chemicals, such as pesticides. In these work environments, employers have a legal responsibility to equip employees with everything they need for physical safety, such as proper substance labeling, respiratory protection and ventilation.

Repetitive Motion Injuries

Making the same physical movements over and over again on the job can lead to harmful wear and tear on the body. Jobs with a lot of bending and lifting of heavy objects, for example, can lead to repetitive stress injuries. Examples include muscle strains, back injuries, herniated disks, carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. Employers in New Jersey can help prevent repetitive stress injuries by offering ergonomic chairs, back braces, frequent stretch breaks and training on proper posture.

Employer Responsibilities in New Jersey

While it is in your best interest to take your safety into your own hands as a worker in New Jersey, the brunt of this responsibility rests with your employer. Employers are required to abide by state and federal workplace safety laws to promote a culture of safety. If your employer fails to meet its safety obligations, the company can be held liable or financially responsible for your workplace injuries.

For more information about how to handle a workplace injury claim in New Jersey, contact the Law Offices of Jeffrey S. Hasson to request a free case evaluation.