Workplace Injuries
Every year in the United States, people get injured or even die while on the job. In 2014, there were about 3 million workplace injuries or illness cases in the private sector, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Of these cases, about 2.8 million of the 3 million total were work-related injuries. Texas cases contributed to this number with about a quarter of a million nonfatal occupational injuries, and more than 500 fatal injuries in the same year.
There were 3 specific industries that had more than 100,000 days away from work incidents, and those industries are: the healthcare and social assistance industry, the manufacturing industry, and the retail trade industry. Although these industries had the highest number of days away from work incidents, other occupations actually had higher incidences of workplace injuries.
The occupations with the highest incidences of workplace injuries and illness are police officers, correctional officers, firefighters, nursing assistants, construction laborers, and tractor trailer truck drivers. Each of these occupations had incidence rates higher than 300 per 10,000 workers, and the number of cases that required days away from work was more than 10,000.
Of workplace injuries, the most common events leading to the injury itself included overexertion (at about 44% of all workplace injuries) and slips, trips or falls (at about 27%). The most common types of workplace injuries are sprains, strains, and tears, and each of these injuries required the employee to miss around 10 days of work as a result.
Other factors that play a role in workplace injuries include race, age, and gender. Beginning with race, white workers accounted for 38% of all work-related injuries in 2014, with Hispanic/Latino workers accounting for about 12%, and black workers about 8%. Other races had relatively low percentages of workplace injuries. However, these figures may be slightly off because in about 40% of the cases race was unreported.
With regards to age, people in the age group between 45-54 years old had the highest number of days away from work incidents. Finally, gender also plays an important role in workplace injuries. Between men and women, men were generally injured at a higher rate, making up about 60% of all workplace injuries. Additionally, men took an average of 3 more days away from work to recover than women did.
In Texas, employers are incentivized to have worker’s compensation insurance for their employees. The incentive is that as long as an employer has worker’s compensation insurance, the company cannot be sued. However, non-subscribers (companies that don’t have worker’s compensation insurance) get a deal from Texas as well: If you are not going to get worker’s compensation insurance then you can be sued…and you cannot say it was your employee’s fault that he or she got injured. Additionally, Texas law states: You also cannot blame his or her co-workers.
As you can see, there is certainly a price to pay for not having worker’s compensation insurance in Texas. Additionally, you can see that there are many different factors at play when a person suffers an injury at work. Race, age, gender, and the type of industry and work a person does has a direct correlation to their risk for a workplace injury.
If you have been injured on the job and your employer does not have worker’s compensation insurance, you need an experienced law firm like The Merman Law Firm on your side. If you have been injured on the job and your employer does not have worker’s compensation insurance, contact the Merman Law Firm immediately to maximize your recovery.
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