North Carolina employers should prioritize creating safety in the workplace. Unfortunately, accidents can happen even when bosses have worked hard to implement safety protocols, provide necessary equipment and properly train all employees. Some of the more common workplace injuries can often occur despite employers’ and workers’ best efforts.
Workplace falls
Slips, trips and falls account for approximately one third of workplace injuries. Employers can take simple preventive measures to minimize the risk of falls, such as providing adequate lighting, eliminating unnecessary clutter, fixing uneven walking surfaces, removing wrinkled carpet and performing thorough housekeeping. Depending on the industry, employers might also want to encourage workers to wear proper footwear. Injuries most commonly associated with slips, trips and falls include:
- Broken bones
- Sprains
- Cuts
- Pulled muscles
Repetitive stress injuries
Repetitive stress injuries — RSIs — account for another third of work injuries. RSIs are actually the fastest growing type of workplace injury and frequently cause serious, long-term damage to victims. Those living with an RSI injury can experience excruciating pain with even simple movements. RSIs are not always the result of extensive physical effort, either — regularly working at a keyboard can also lead to injury.
Some accidents are simply unavoidable. However, some people in North Carolina might strongly associate workers’ compensation benefits with victims who were harmed in preventive incidents or because of safety lapses in the workplace. In reality, victims who have suffered serious workplace injuries do not have to prove that their employers were irresponsible or negligent in order to secure benefits.