Every workplace should foster safety amidst productivity and efficiency. After all, employees can’t perform efficiently if they feel unsafe and uncomfortable in their working environment. Unfortunately, some workplaces still don’t implement safety policies, leading to workplace accidents that could’ve been prevented in the first place.
Leg and yellow helmet of injured lying worker at work.
A Look At Workplace Accidents
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), more than 5,000 workers met an accident at work last 2019, which equates to around 15 deaths daily. These are the most common causes of workplace accidents that put the lives of many workers at risk:
- Lack of Fall Protection
- Poor Implementation of Hazard Communication Standards
- Improper Use of Scaffolding
- Exposure to Hazardous Contaminants
- Absence of Proper Lockout/Tagout Procedures
Thankfully, injured workers have legal rights against employers if unjust workplace conditions have caused the accident. As a kind of preventive measure, this informative post informs us on the different causes of semi-truck accidents so we can steer away from them.
Despite the financial compensation and medical support that wounded employees can receive, the lasting effects and repercussions on their physical and mental health are unequaled by any amount of money. This article will discuss the four ways workplace accidents can affect your health as an employee:
- Cause Debilitating Injuries
Many industries involve physical and mechanical labor, such as the construction, manufacturing, and healthcare industry. Since workers in these industries are continuously exposed to physical hazards, workplace accidents can put them into permanent disability.
When companies fail to protect their people and a worker is injured in an accident, this injury can take a toll on the employee’s health forever. For instance, if a worker is diagnosed with a spinal cord injury (SCI), the muscle and nerves may be paralyzed, making an employee unable to work again for the rest of their lives.
- Induce Chronic Medical Conditions
Workplace safety hazards also exist in chemical forms. As defined by OSHA, a hazardous workplace means that there are chemicals present on the premises that expose an individual to physical or health risks. In terms of dangerous substance exposure in the workplace, it can bring a sudden or slow onset of injuries or medical conditions.
Chemical spills are an example of a sudden workplace accident, which can harm an individual through topical contact and ingestion, causing chemical burns on the skin, eye, and even internal organs.
On the other hand, employees can also experience delayed effects of chemicals and substances they’re exposed to. For example, long-term asbestos exposure at work is the leading cause of mesothelioma cancer in workers involved with the use of asbestos-infused materials such as vinyl floor tiles, roof sealants, wall panels, and many more.
Furthermore, poor workplace conditions can lead to these occupational health issues:
- Stress and Mental Health Disorders
- Musculoskeletal Disorders Caused by One-Time Accident or Repeated Stress
- Work-Related Cancer Due to Carcinogen Exposure
- Damages Your Mental and Emotional Sanity
On-the-job accidents aren’t only a threat to one’s physical health and mobility, but it presents just as the same adverse effects to an employee’s mental and emotional health. It’s challenging for an injured employee to cope with the accident’s impact, and even after some time, they may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Being struck and caught in moving machinery are workplace accidents that can induce PTSD in the injured worker. If you’re an employee who has witnessed a coworker’s incident inside the workplace, this event can also impact your work and personal life and distract you from working efficiently.
Aside from workplace accidents, another situation that may arise in the workplace are bullying and violence. These mental and emotional repercussions can slow down injury recovery, and worse, hinder employees from fulfilling their roles appropriately.
- Compromises Your Family’s Health, Safety, and Overall Quality of Life
A less discussed aspect of incurring workplace injuries is how the worker’s family is affected throughout the treatment and recovery process. Moreover, a loved one’s death due to a workplace accident is hardly anticipated. In case the worker has left a family behind because of an on-site accident, they can suffer from all types of demise: physical, emotional, mental, and financial damage.
Bottom Line
Workplace safety should be a priority. Both employees and employers should work together to create a safe, injury-free, and comfortable working environment for everyone. As the list of detrimental impacts of workplace accidents goes on, the more reasons injured employees and their families should fight for an appropriate legal process.
If you happen to suffer from these due to an on-the-job accident, make sure to find a competent legal counsel that can help you file a personal injury claim. This way, you and your family can be properly compensated after the accident.
