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Common Workplace Accidents In Ohio

Most Ohio Workplace Accidents Are Covered By Workers’ Compensation

Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t qualify for workers’ compensation if you’ve been injured in a job-related accident in northeastern Ohio. Workers’ comp is a no-fault insurance program. Almost all employers are required to have coverage. Almost any injury suffered while you are performing assigned job duties may earn you workers’ comp benefits in Ohio.

Unfortunately, because a large workers’ compensation claim or many smaller claims can drive an employer’s premiums up, some employers try to stop injured workers from applying for workers’ comp. You may have been told you won’t qualify.

The work injury lawyers at Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, work with injured workers in the Mahoning Valley to help them get workers’ compensation benefits they deserve. We can quickly help you determine whether you qualify (you probably do!), and we can help you apply for and pursue a workers’ comp claim. We understand the complexity of Ohio workers’ compensation laws and the bureaucracy of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC). We can get you through it.

Contact Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, to get the advantage you need when seeking Ohio workers’ compensation benefits. You are no longer alone. Call our Ohio workplace injury lawyers today.

Why Did Your Workplace Accident Occur?

Chances are, the job site accident that left you injured and wondering whether you can get workers’ compensation benefits was not unusual. Some jobs are more dangerous than others.

Most statistical counts of workplace accidents look at fatal accidents. In fatal job-related accidents, the deceased worker’s surviving family members are likely to qualify for benefits.

Based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, workers in the most dangerous jobs in America are.

  • Logging workers
  • Commercial fishermen and fishing workers
  • Aircraft pilots and flight engineers
  • Roofers
  • Refuse and recyclable material collectors
  • Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers
  • Structural iron and steel workers
  • Driver/sales workers and truck drivers
  • Electrical power-line installers and repairers
  • Taxi drivers and chauffeurs
  • Construction trades and extraction workers
  • Construction laborers
  • First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service and groundskeepers
  • General maintenance and repairs workers
  • Police and sheriff’s patrol officers
  • Grounds maintenance workers
  • First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers and repairers
  • Painters (construction and maintenance)
  • Electricians
  • Telecommunications line installers and repairers

It’s easy to recognize that it’s more hazardous to work at high elevations and/or while exposed to the natural elements or machinery and that these jobs are more hazardous than jobs without such risks. But an accident can happen at any job site and leave someone injured or dead. This applies to “safe” office jobs as well as jobs that seem somewhat dangerous by their very description.

Healthcare workers, bankers, store clerks, writers, cashiers, warehouse and factory workers and other people in the workforce may face more understated workplace hazards, but they can and do get injured in accidents while on the job.

How Did Your Workplace Injury Occur?

The Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index provides a look at the types of workplace activities that commonly lead to worker injuries. The insurance company ranks the leading causes of serious, nonfatal work-related injuries each year in terms of their workers’ compensation costs. The annual report is based on the insurance company’s data, and information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

The Workplace Safety Index is intended to help employers, risk managers and safety practitioners make workplaces safer by identifying critical risk areas so that businesses can better allocate safety resources.

The index also reveals that the most disabling, nonfatal workplace injuries cost nearly $62 billion in direct U.S. workers’ compensation benefits.

You probably know what happened to cause your workplace injury. However, you may find that one or more of these top 10 causes of workplace injuries were a part of your accident and a main contributor to the harm it caused you.

Top 10 Causes Of Workplace Injuries In Ohio

  1. Overexertion involving outside sources: Injuries like strains, sprains or torn muscles, ligaments, tendons related to lifting, pushing, pulling, holding, carrying or throwing objects.
  2. Falls on the same level: Slip-and-fall accidents, or tripping and falling to the floor, deck or ground.
  3. Falls to a lower level: Such as off a roof, ladder, scaffolding, etc., or from one floor to another at a construction site or from a dock to a boat deck, etc.
  4. Being struck by an object or equipment: Impact injuries from being hit by falling or flying debris, tools, equipment, etc., including items ejected or thrown by the action of a tool.
  5. Over-exertion or bodily reactions: Strains, sprains or torn muscles, ligaments, tendons, etc., from bending, stooping, twisting, reaching or stepping up or down, such as on a stairway, in a crawlspace or attic, among storage shelves, or to enter or exit a vehicle.
  6. Roadway incidents involving motorized land vehicle: Accidents involving cars, trucks, delivery vans, earth moving equipment and other heavy equipment, etc.
  7. Slips or trips without fall: Resulting in a strain, sprain, etc., from the slip or trip, or as the worker moves abruptly to regain balance.
  8. Caught in/compressed by equipment or objects: Crushing injuries affecting the worker’s whole body or a body part (head, hand, arm, foot, etc.) from being caught in machinery; being between two objects coming together, such as a door and a doorway, hinged lid and a box, a tool and a tabletop, etc.; or being a collapsed structure, trench, etc.
  9. Struck against objects or equipment: Impact injuries from being pushed into a wall, door, machinery, etc.
  10. Repetitive motions involving micro-tasks: often resulting in carpal tunnel syndrome from lengthy and repetitive typing, keying, mousing, sorting, assembling, picking off, etc.

In the construction industry, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) identifies the “fatal four” accidents most likely to cause a construction worker’s death. They are:

  • Falls
  • Being struck by objects
  • Electrocution
  • Caught-in / between objects

Beyond their application to construction trades, they are interesting for how well they mirror the overall most common workplace accidents, except for the addition of electrocution accidents. Electrocution accidents occur most often because a worker comes into contact with overhead power lines or wires that are bared because of frayed or severed cords or broken machinery.

Do you recognize your workplace accident above? Knowing how agencies like OSHA or the BLS describe job-related accidents can inform how you complete a workers’ compensation claim application. Speaking the language of the government workers, including those at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, makes it easier to make them understand you.

We know the language of the Ohio workers’ compensation system. We know what claims examiners look for in workers’ comp benefits applications, too. We can ensure your claim application is complete and clear to claim examiners and enhance the potential for faster approval of benefits to you.

Get Workers’ Compensation After Your Workplace Accident in Ohio

When you put Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, to work on your claim, the advantage moves back to you. We work with workplace accidents like yours and the workers’ compensation claims that result from them every day. We can help you submit a complete and clear workers’ compensation claim the first time or in an appeal, and help you get benefits you deserve.

We know what workers like you and families like yours go through after a workplace accident leaves a primary wage earner injured. We also know what’s required of a workers’ comp claim, and what makes approving claims easier for Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation examiners. But we’re not here to make their jobs easier. We’re here to make your life easier.

Heller, Maas, Moro & Magill Co., LPA, is dedicated to protecting the rights of injured workers, injury victims and the disabled in the Mahoning Valley. Since our founding in 1985, we have developed a solid reputation for continued loyalty to our clients. Don’t go it alone. Call us today so we can make the system work for you.