Pennsylvania Workers Compensation Law Blog

Construction injuries can take many forms. Falls from scaffolding, ladder collapses and job-related vehicle accidents are only some of the ways that construction workers can get hurt on the job.

These accidents can happen at any time of year. But Pennsylvania workplace injury lawyers are well aware that the summer construction season is about to kick off in the Keystone State and across the country.

That's why last week was National Work-Zone Awareness Week. The message of that week remains valid throughout the year. The chief operating officer of the PA Turnpike, Craig Shuey, urges drivers to "decelerate and concentrate" in work zones.

"Remember," he said, "if you encounter orange signs, cones or barrels, you are driving in an area where people are working to make the highway safer. Please give them the considerations of reducing your speed and focusing on driving."

Over the years, 32 employees of the Pennsylvania Turnpike have been killed on the job. Most of these fatal accidents occurred in work zones.

Turnpike officials do not want that number to increase, or for other injuries to occur. But an ambitious construction season is planned, and about 4,000 construction and maintenance employees will be out working - many of them right along the road.

Nursing homes and residential care facilities are dangerous places to work. In fact, federal statistics for 2010 show that the care facility industry had one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses in the country.

Pennsylvania workers' compensation attorneys and other worker safety advocates are naturally concerned about this.

At the federal level, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recognized the need for action to improve safety and prevent workplace injuries. OSHA proposes to do this through a program known by the acronym NEP, for National Emphasis Program.

Currently, the incidence rate in nursing homes and residential care facilities for injuries and illnesses requiring time off work is more than double the average for all of private industry.

Much of this is due to overexertion. In care facilities, it is often necessary to lift patients - and that ergonomic stress can really put a strain on worker's back. Slips and falls are also common.

In addition, care workers often face serious, specifically health-related hazards. These include exposure to blood, human waste, and other materials that may carry infectious diseases.

More and more Americans are embracing online shopping. But few people probably pause to think about working conditions in the warehouses from which the products they buy are shipped.

Workers' compensation attorneys and government regulators are concerned, however, about the safety records of Amazon and other Internet retailers.

Overall, the frequency of workplace injury is high in the industry.

Last year, Amazon settled a lawsuit brought by a warehouse worker who asserted that a safety official for the company told him to tell emergency responders that an injury to his hip was not related to work - even though the warehouse worker believed it was.

The worker's injury was later reported after the Allentown Morning Call investigated Amazon's warehouse operations in Pennsylvania.

The investigation found that temperatures inside the Amazon warehouse were so high that the company positioned ambulances outside to facilitate taking workers to the hospital.

It is so easy for employers to overlook ergonomics. Despite growing research on the importance of proper positioning, too many workers are subjected to workplaces that lead to repetitive stress injuries.

Workers' compensation claims are often the result of this seeming indifference to worker wellness.

It shouldn't take a workplace injury, however, to convince employers to do the right thing ergonomically. This means making sure sound ergonomic procedures are used at work stations - and in all other places where employees work.

Repetitive stress injuries do not only occur in offices where people type all day long. They also occur in manufacturing jobs and on construction sites. In fact, as many as 1 in 3 injuries in the construction industry could be prevented by using proper ergonomic procedures.

U.S. employers frequently fail to use such procedures. As a result, according to one estimate, the cost to employers of repetitive stress injuries (RSI) may be over $1 billion a year.