Workplace Injuries on the Rise in Florida

Our Delray Beach personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg routinely represent people injured due to the negligence of another. The typical injury cases arise from car accidents, slip and falls, etc. Clearly, people often incur injuries unexpectedly, whether they are simply driving to work or walking into a department store. Unfortunately, workplace injuries are on the rise.

Sometimes, people experience injuries not when they’re “out and about,” but when they are at work. These sorts of injuries are known as “on-the-job” injuries. They are, for the most part, governed by workers’ compensation laws. As our Delray Beach personal injury lawyers know, employers are generally shielded from liability. Unless the employer has acted (or failed to act) with a sufficient level of disregard with respect to known or knowable risks on the job site. Instead, required workers’ compensation insurance covers injuries resulting from on-the-job injuries. As is the case with many insurance-related disputes, though, having an experienced attorney by your side can help ensure that you receive that to which you are entitled.

As you might imagine, the likelihood of you being injured while on the job varies significantly according to the kind of work you are in. Accountants, actuaries, dieticians, and paralegals have relatively low risks of significant on-the-job injuries. Unlike occupations such as logging workers, fishing workers, pilots, and roofers. For instance, in 2014, there were 78 logging worker deaths (a rate of 110.0 fatal injuries per 100,000).

Here in the State of Florida, the number of on-the-job fatal injuries seems to be rising. Last year, in 2015, a total of 272 workers died while on the job in Florida. The previous year, 2014, saw 228 on-the-job deaths in Florida. However, the news isn’t all bad. Taken in the context of the nation as a whole, the Sunshine State’s numbers are not outlandish (although the increase is troubling and the comparison is cold comfort to those who have lost loved ones to on-the-job injuries). Consider the fact that Florida’s rate of worker deaths is 3.1 per 100,000; the national average is 3.4 per 100,000, meaning that on-the-job deaths in Florida happen with less frequency than the national average. (The most dangerous state was North Dakota, with a rate of 12.5 worker fatalities per 100,000; the safest state was Rhode Island, with a rate of 1.2 worker deaths per 100,000.)

As our personal injury lawyers know, it is important to remember that the numbers listed above might not tell the whole story. Not every significant on-the-job injury results in death, and not every on-the-job injury results in employer notification, an insurance claim, or both. Thus, just like more crime takes place than is reported to police, it is reasonable to infer that there are more on-the-job injuries than we know about from official reports. Bottom line is that workplace injuries are on the rise

If you have any questions about on-the-job injuries or any other personal injury-related issue, or if you or someone you love has been injured due to the negligence or wrongdoing of another, please contact our Delray Beach personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg. To schedule a free consultation with one of our personal injury lawyers, please contact us by calling 561-266-9191 or by e-mailing daronberg@build.simple.biz. We look forward to assisting you.

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