What kinds of injuries do office workers suffer from?
Office injuries are a lot more common than you might think. In fact, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, three million non-life-threatening office-related injuries and illnesses happened in 2013 alone. Let’s familiarize ourselves with the most common of these injuries so that we’ll be better at avoiding them.
Office falls: Falls are the most common office-caused accident in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims that office workers have more than double the chance of suffering a fall accident than non-office workers. Here are the most common causes of these falls:
- Slippery or wet floors
- Standing on a chair to reach for something
- Tripping on lose carpet, an open drawer, something in the hallway or another obstacle
- Sitting on unstable chairs
- Bad lighting
Musculoskeletal injuries from bad ergonomics: Not sitting properly on office furniture, not using good posture, and using badly designed or worn out furniture causes many types of musculoskeletal problems relating to the shoulders, back and neck. These injuries cause $15 billion in costs to workers’ compensation insurers annually in the United States.
Workplace violence: Fights, attacks and sexual violence can happen inside offices. Unfortunately, when people become frustrated with one another in an office setting, this kind of violence can happen and it’s not uncommon for serious injuries to result.
Get Serious Representation For Your Serious Workplace Injuries
If you were hurt at your office job in New York, it doesn’t matter how your injuries happened or who is at fault. You may be covered by workers’ compensation insurance, and you may be able to pursue financial compensation to pay for your injuries depending on the circumstances in which they occurred.
Source: Aftermath, “Office Injury Statistics,” accessed Feb. 16, 2018
