When you scan the length and breadth of Wisconsin, you see people in nearly every job imaginable: manufacturing motorcycles, writing software, farming, firefighting, accounting, nursing and many, many more. While we have an incredible variety of occupations here, there are just three main causes of on-the-job injuries that result in days away from work.
According to the National Safety Council (NSC), the trio of causes of work-related injuries is overexertion, slips, trips and falls, and contact with objects and equipment.
So while there isn’t a lot of overlap in the duties of a car mechanic and an office manager, for instance, they can both slip on their jobs and fall, sustaining painful injuries that will require time off, medical attention and workers’ compensation benefits.
Let’s dive into those three causes of on-the-job injuries to see what each means in practical terms.
Overexertion
- These injuries occur when someone uses excessive physical effort, often in lifting, pushing, carrying, throwing, turning or holding.
- Repetitive motion injuries resulting from the stress and strain of microtasks.
Slips, trips and falls
- Includes injuries sustained when a person slips but catches himself or herself and does not fall.
- Falls on the same level of a building, which includes tripping and slipping, falls while sitting and falls onto or against an object on the same level.
- Falls to a lower level of a building: falling from roofs, ladders, scaffolding or other structures.
- Falls from collapsing structures and falls through surfaces.
- Jumps to a lower level: these deliberate acts are separate from falls to a lower level.
Contact with objects and equipment
- A worker strikes an object or equipment by bumping into it, stepping on, kicking or being thrown or pushed onto an object.
- A part of a worker’s body is crushed, compressed, pinched or squeezed between shifting or stationary objects, or in a rope or wire.
- Injuries from vibrations, pressure or friction.
- A worker is crushed or caught in collapsing equipment, a structure or material.
The NSC says 84 percent of work-related injuries that result in days off occur in those three categories.
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury while working, you may wish to contact an experienced Wisconsin workers’ compensation attorney to help you get the financial compensation to which you’re entitled.
