According to workplace injury statistics, the manufacturing industry is particularly dangerous. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that manufacturing workers represent roughly 20% of all reported worker injuries in any given year.
There are many situations that can lead to workers in a manufacturing environment requiring medical support and a leave of absence. What are some of the most common ways that such employees get hurt on the job?
1. They overexert themselves
Often, a worker’s injury is the direct result of them lifting too much without help or otherwise pushing their body beyond its physical limits. Workers can get hurt through repetitive stress rather than one specific incident. It can damage the body for someone to spend eight hours gripping a lever or moving component parts down a line.
2. They slip and fall
While it may seem banal compared to other job risks, the possibility of someone falling is not something that industrial workers or their employers should ignore. Slip-and-falls can cause broken bones, brain injuries and soft tissue injuries that make a leave of absence necessary.
3. They make a mistake on the job
All it takes is a half-second mistake related to timing for a worker in a manufacturing setting to severely injure themselves. Putting their hand in the press at the wrong moment or turning when someone else passes with unwieldy materials might mean that someone suffers a head injury or loses a finger.
Thankfully, regardless of whether a worker slips in a puddle of coolant or gets burned by a machine, they can typically rely on workers’ compensation coverage to replace their wages during their leave of absence. Learning about workplace injury risks can be as important as learning about workers’ compensation coverage for those in particularly risky professions.
