Certain workplace safety concerns are industry-specific. Welders and cooks have to worry about burns, while retail employees have to worry about encountering a shoplifter who turns violent. Other safety concerns are relatively universal. They can lead to injuries for employees in almost any professional sector.
Many people associate falls with jobs like construction work, where people perform job tasks at a significant elevation. However, falls are a safety concern for almost any professional, even those working in office settings.
People do not have to fall from a significant distance to sustain injuries that could affect their ability to work. Same-level falls can lead to injuries and workers’ compensation claims.
Slip-and-falls are quite dangerous
Same-level falls usually occur due to one of two reasons. People either trip or they slip. They lose contact with the floor and end up falling. How they react during the fall can influence what injuries they ultimately sustain.
Some people may flail their arms and kick their legs, which may result in them sustaining broken bones or other trauma from striking objects or the floor as they fall. Those intense physical reactions can also trigger soft tissue injuries in some cases.
If the fall is sudden and a worker does not have time to react, then they may be at risk of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A worker could hit their head on the floor, furniture or a nearby wall when they fall. They can develop a variety of different symptoms that might affect their ability to perform their job.
Workers’ compensation can help
Professionals who slip or trip and experience a same-level fall may be eligible for workers’ compensation. The benefits available include medical coverage and disability benefits.
Workers’ compensation can pay for the cost of putting a broken limb in a cast and the physical therapy required after the bone knits. Workers’ compensation can also replace a portion of a worker’s wages if they cannot work after a slip and fall. Even if the worker may have caused their own fall by wearing inappropriate footwear or rushing in the workplace, they may still be eligible for benefits.
Filing a workers’ compensation claim can be a difficult process. Injured employees who have appropriate support can increase their chances of having their claim approved and optimize the benefits that they receive after a same-level fall.