Industrial workers encounter a wide range of work-related risks each workday. While safety protocols help reduce these risk of industrial accidents, the unfortunate reality is that numerous preventable incidents occur each year. Industrial workers often suffer severe injuries and significant, long-term damages due to the negligence or carelessness of another party.
Common causes
Based on recent statistics, roughly 80% of industrial accidents are due to improper precautionary measures. This can be broken down into environmental causes, mechanical causes and human factor causes. With regards to environmental causes, this includes poor lighting, ambient temperature, air pollution and sound pollution.
When it comes to mechanical causes, this includes broken or damaged machines, total or partial power failure, a mechanical fire or explosion and extensive wear and tear on a machine.
Finally, human factors include situation such as an unkept workspace, fatigue, overexertion, stress, dehydration, improper lifting techniques, taking shortcuts, poor management of the workspace and neglecting safety procedures.
Types of accidents and injuries
Every day, roughly 14 American workers are killed in a work-related accident. Additionally, around 30,000 are injured each year in industrial accidents.
These types of non-fatal injuries include traumatic brain injuries, burns, broken bones, crush injuries, amputations, traumatic eye injuries, spinal cord injuries and degloving, which is when sections of the skin are torn from the tissue beneath it.
While industrial injuries have a wide range of causes, there are a few types that are common when it comes to industrial accidents. This includes equipment rollovers, forklift overturns, falls or trips, being struck by heavy equipment, defective machinery, being caught in or crushed by machinery or equipment and being exposed to toxic chemicals, including carbon monoxide, chlorine, sulfuric acid, methylene chloride, ammonia and hydrochloric acid.
It is important that injured workers explore their options, especially when the incident was caused by negligence in the workplace. Holding negligent parties accountable, along with workers’ compensation benefits, could help offset these damages and losses.