What To Do After Suffering Lifting Injuries at Work

Employee safety is not as prioritized as it should be in most work environments, but working in industrial environments and having to lift heavy objects can increase the risk of injury in the workplace significantly.

One common but sometimes overlooked workplace hazard is injuries from lifting heavy objects. Whether they are caused by improper lifting techniques, lack of workplace safety measures, or unreasonably high weight and/or frequency of lifts, lifting injuries at work can be debilitating and persistent.

The workplace injury lawyers at Grimes & Fertitta are here to discuss the severity of lifting injuries at work and provide guidance on what to do if you’ve suffered an injury. If you’ve suffered a lifting injury at work and would like to consult a winning workplace injury attorney, call the Houston personal injury lawyers at Grimes & Fertitta today at (713) 224-7644.

The hazards of lifting equipment and heavy objects at work

Lifting injuries are common for a handful of reasons. In many industries, most jobs require the frequent lifting of heavy objects. No matter how well an employee is trained, or how proper their technique is, lifting heavy objects presents a danger to the worker doing the lifting every time.

Although lifting injuries at work do not always happen because of negligence in the workplace, there may have been negligence involved if the following points are true:

• Your employer never provided you with adequate training
• Your employer did not provide you with the proper equipment
• You’ve been expected to lift objects above the maximum standards set by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

The NIOSH developed a mathematical model which is used to predict the risk of injury based on the weight being lifted and other confounding factors. To find out if your employer has required you to lift things that are considered to exceed this limit, consult with an industrial accident lawyer.

What are common workplace lifting injuries?

We’ve established that workplace lifting injuries are common and that they can be serious, but what injuries can you get from poor lifting, specifically?

• Sprains and strains are the most common type of injury resulting from lifting heavy objects in the workplace. Sprains and strains are also the least severe type of injury that can result from lifting, although they can also take significant time to heal.
• Muscle tears that result from lifting can take someone away from their job for months at a time, as they are similar to sprains and strains but take even longer to heal.
• Herniated discs resulting from lifting can not only be extremely painful and require surgery to address, but they can cause lifelong back injuries that can impact a worker’s quality of life in perpetuity.
• Fractures and breaks can require surgery if the break in the bone is severe. Even if the break is minor, it will still take quite some time to heal fully.

Because injuries from lifting heavy objects can complicate workers’ lives forever, workers’ compensation might not always be the ideal route to take in the event of an injury. Even if your employer offers workers’ compensation, you should discuss it with an attorney to ensure that you will get everything that you need to recover.

Once you accept a workers’ compensation payment, you will no longer be able to pursue a personal injury claim. Because back and neck injury settlement amounts are often much higher than workers’ compensation payouts, if you’ve suffered a neck injury from lifting heavy objects at work, you might want to consider your options before taking workers’ compensation.

What to do if you suffer an injury lifting heavy objects at work

As you will see, documenting the incident and your injury are essential to successfully pursuing a personal injury or workers’ compensation claim.

1. Receive medical attention. Prioritizing your health and safety after an accident is vital. Remember that not all injuries fully reveal their symptoms immediately, and that adrenaline can cause you to feel okay even when you’re not. Regardless of whether your injury seems minor, you should receive whatever medical attention is necessary to avoid further complications.
2. Report the incident. Notifying your supervisor and creating a formal record of the incident is a crucial step in pursuing a claim. Make sure to provide as much detail as possible in your account of the incident, and ask for a copy of the incident report.
3. Document everything. Thorough documentation of both the incident and its aftermath will be vital to the success of your claim. Keep medical records, receipts, and correspondences with the hospital, the insurance company, and your employer, as they will all help your lawyer to build the strongest case possible.
4. Contact a trusted personal injury lawyer. An attorney who can help you navigate the claim process and ensure that you get what you deserve is essential. Do not assume that your employer or the insurance company will do right by you. If you want someone in your corner, you need to hire an attorney that you can trust.

 

Because of the reasons stated above, even if your company offers workers’ compensation, you’ll likely want to consult with a personal injury lawyer. You can not assume that a workers’ compensation claim will cover the true cost of your injury, and once you accept payment you can no longer pursue a claim.

Continue reading: Workers comp vs personal injury

Don’t let lifting injuries at work control your future. Call a workplace injury lawyer from Grimes & Fertitta today.

While suffering lifting injuries at work can be a traumatic and painful experience, it does not have to impact your life and livelihood. Although serious lifting injuries can negatively impact your well-being, finances, and overall quality of life, with the right workplace injury lawyer at your side you can make sure that you receive what you and your family need to carry on.

The workplace injury attorneys at Grimes & Fertitta know a thing or two about going up against large teams of lawyers that businesses and insurance companies employ — because they used to work for them. But now, instead of fighting for large corporations, they fight tirelessly for their clients, taking complex, high-stakes legal matters out of their hands and helping them get what they deserve.

If your or a loved one has suffered a lifting injury at work, call the trusted personal injury attorneys at Grimes & Fertitta today at (713) 224-7644 or contact us online for a free consultation.

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