Category: Workers’ Compensation

Female hospitality workers and domestic workers suffer sexual assaults at work at alarming rates. With long hours and night shifts, women in these jobs are especially vulnerable to abusive employers and assaults by customers.

Workers can suffer serious injuries and death in confined workspaces that have insufficient oxygen, toxic fumes, combustible materials and tight spaces that can trap workers inside. The U.S. Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires all employers to provide safe work environments for workers, including confined spaces that present specific dangers. Confined spaces can be present in almost any occupation, but they are commonly found within the construction, mining, utility and drilling industries where workers often have to work underground. Confined spaces include, but are not limited to, areas such as manholes, storage tanks, silos, pits and vats, storage bins, sewers and tunnels, underground utility vaults and pipelines.

When a worker is injured on the job in Nevada and the amount of marijuana in his or her system is above the legal limit to drive, the injured worker is presumed to be impaired for workers’ compensation purposes and claims for damages may be denied. The circumstances of the accident, whether the worker had a current and lawful prescription for marijuana, and factors regarding usage may play a significant role in determining a claim, however.

Improperly controlled hazardous energy can seriously injure or kill workers. To minimize the risk, effective practices and procedures, as laid out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, must be implemented.

Improper fall protection has been the number one OSHA violation every year since 2011. Falls are also the leading cause of death for people working in the construction industry. In 2014, there were 874 total construction industry fatalities. Three hundred thirty-seven of those deaths were due to falls. Employers are required to maintain safe and secure fall protection in areas where workers are at risk of falls. Anytime people are working at a height of six feet or more, the company must provide workers with guardrails, nets, or some approved personal fall arrest system.

Nurses are at a higher risk of suffering preventable work-related injuries than many other occupations. Over half of the injuries nurses experience are musculoskeletal disorders, many of which could have been avoided if hospitals invested in the proper equipment.

Roughly 2,000 eye injuries occur in the workplace every day. An estimated 20,000 of these injuries require medical treatment and at least one day away from work. It is estimated that of the total number of eye injuries, roughly 33% of these injuries are treated within an emergency room. According to data collected by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, these injuries cost more than $300 million in lost productivity, wages, and treatment.

Workers who are seriously injured on the job face a dual threat from both their injuries and the medications their physicians prescribe to treat them. In addition to the disabling conditions that can be suffered on the job, workers can acquire addictions to opioid medications that can further hinder their ability to work.

Nevadans who work in noisy facilities may suffer from work-related hearing loss, and they may be able to recover workers’ compensation benefits for their conditions. Workplaces have to follow rules that have been promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) about workplace noise exposure. A workers’ compensation attorney may help people who have suffered occupational hearing losses to recover benefits to pay for their medical expenses. If workers are left either partially or totally disabled, the lawyer can help them try to receive monthly disability benefits so that they can have ongoing financial support.

Dramatic workplace accidents don’t cause all work-related injuries. Over time, physically demanding and repetitive tasks may cause gradual damage known as repetitive trauma. This trauma includes diseases and injuries that affect the muscles, bones, nerves, tendons and respiratory system. Employees may receive workers’ compensation for repetitive trauma, but unfortunately, it isn’t always a guarantee.