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Workplace injuries happen, and when they do, they can be a traumatic experience. They can affect workers both physically and mentally, requiring time off work and rehabilitation to return to full health. Workplace injury victims may experience anxiety during this time, especially if they are the breadwinners of their families. However, what many workers don’t realize is that they may be eligible for compensation.

So, what are the most common workplace injuries in 2021?  Let’s take a moment to have a closer look:

Strains and Lifting Injuries 

Strains and other injuries associated with lifting are among the most common workplace injuries, even in 2021, and they can affect workers of any age and in any job role. This type of injury is often due to poor handling practices. If workers bend, twist, or lift when moving heavy objects, they may sustain injuries to their back, legs, neck, or knees, which can limit their ability to work.

Construction Site Injury

There are many dangers present on construction sites, and workers may sustain serious injuries when working in this environment. Accidents such as falling, tripping, and slipping are common on construction sites, and the chances of receiving an injury in the form of open wounds are much higher when workers are using machinery and tools.

Fractures

A bone fracture can prevent a person from working for many months. A fracture may happen when a person falls, trips, or slips. Fractures may also be sustained if a worker has a limb crushed by machinery.

Injury in the Office

Not every injury happens in a workshop or on a construction site. Injuries such as lifting, pulling, twisting, and straining can be sustained in the office when workers are moving objects. Repetitive strain injuries occur when a worker performs the same action repeatedly. In addition, falling or slipping on stairs inside the office can lead to fractures, bruising, and other physical damage.

Psychological Strain

Psychological trauma can be every bit as debilitating as physical injury.  Bullying, intimidation, or continual harassment in the workplace can lead to anxiety and emotional instability. These factors can also lead a worker to take time off work to recover.  

Tissue Injury

Injuries involving tendons, muscles, and soft tissues are very common in the workplace. Again, these injuries are often the result of repetitive actions or incorrect manual goods handling practices.  

How Can We Prevent Injury in the Workplace?

Many workplace injuries can be avoided by skid steer training for staff to observe proper workplace safety and correct goods handling practices. It is the responsibility of the employer to provide a workplace environment that is as safe as possible for all staff members  

How Do I Claim Compensation?

If you have been injured at work, you may be eligible for compensation. Compensation may cover things such as:

• Medical Expenses
• Loss of Income
• Rehabilitation Services
• Legal Costs

If you think you may be eligible for a compensation claim, there are a few steps you’ll need to follow.

1. Seek Medical Attention

You need to visit your doctor immediately after the incident in order to get the proper treatment, even if you think the injury is only minor. Sometimes, the injury may worsen over time, so it’s important to get medical advice and give your doctor all the details of the accident that led to your injury. They will then be able to give you a certificate that will help with your compensation claim.

2. Inform Your Employer About Your Injury

You’ll want to report the incident to your employer immediately, and no later than 30 days after the event. They should have a register you can fill in, but if they don’t, you can provide them written details about your injury. Be sure to keep a copy of the correspondence for your own records.

3. Submit A Workers’ Compensation Claim Form

Your employer should be able to provide you with a workers’ compensation form when you report your industry. Your doctor can also provide you with this if your employer doesn’t. Be sure to fill out this form in a timely manner and include any attachments that may support your claim.

Do I Need a Compensation Lawyer?

In many cases, you may be able to complete your workers’ compensation claim on your own, alongside your employer and doctor. There may, however, be times where your claim is more complex and you could benefit from the assistance of a compensation lawyer. 

Some cases where you might want to consider consulting a compensation lawyer include:

• When it’s unclear whether or not your injuries are work-related.
• If you require extensive medical treatment.
• If you need to take long periods of time off work.
• If the injury has resulted in permanent disability.

Being injured in the workplace can be a taxing experience, so it’s worth knowing how to avoid being involved in an incident, and how to respond if you are. If you have any doubts about your safety at work, talk to your employer or union about how they can make the workplace as comfortable and safe as possible.

It is the responsibility of the employer to provide a safe working environment for their staff and there are dangers and hazards in every workplace. Health and safety are of huge importance in every industry and this is an area that has undergone significant change over the years to protect employees.

The Industrial Revolution

The working conditions during the industrial revolution would shock by today’s standards with people and even children working in hazardous factory conditions with long hours and poor pay. Serious injuries and fatalities were common in these times as a result of this, which eventually led to the Health and Morals of Apprentices Act 1802 (also known as the Factory Act). This was a major step forward by requiring factories to take steps to protect workers, including limiting working hours and improving working conditions.

The First Lawsuit

The Factory Act led to an increase in regulations in the years to come, including the idea that an employer had a duty of care to protect staff after an employee sued his employer after suffering serious injuries following a wagon cracking and overturning as a result of overloading by the employer in 1835 – this was the first time that an employee sued their employer over a work-related injury. The Employer’s Liability Act 1880 then enabled workers to seek compensation for injuries resulting from the negligence of a fellow employee which led to a flurry of further acts and reforms.

Health & Safety at Work 1974

The next major landmark moment came in 1974 with the Health & Safety at Work Act. This became a revolutionary act that formed the basis for health and safety legislation all around the world and spread across all industries. Under the Act, both employer and employee were responsible for ensuring health, safety, and wellbeing throughout the workplace and saw an incredible 73% reduction in the number of workplace fatalities between 1974 and 2007.

Health & Safety Today

Health and safety has come a long way over the years, but employers still need to make sure that this is a priority and that they are doing all that they can as accidents do happen and if someone is injured they may want to contact a no win no fee solicitor. Improving health and safety should include carrying out regular inspections, creating a health and safety plan, maintaining records, and providing staff training.

Employers need to do all that they can to protect and look after their employees and there have been huge strides made over the years to provide greater protection for workers.

A workplace injury can be an enormously costly thing. Depending on the severity, it might put the affected person out of action for weeks, months, or even longer. In some cases, the workers might have to seek other forms of work – and they might even seek legal redress.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, the annual cost of work-related injury in 2018/2019 was around £5.6 billion. This includes around 6.3 million working days lost. As such, there’s not only a moral imperative to improve safety standards, but a financial one, too.

What are the most common forms of workplace injury?

The most common source of workplace injury is a slip, trip or fall on the same level, which amount to 29% of total injuries. You might add to this figure the 8% that result from falls from height, while bearing in mind that the injuries sustained in this way tend to be a great deal more serious. Injuries while handling, lifting and carrying account for 19%; being struck by a moving object, like a warehouse forklift, accounts for 11%.

Around three quarters of workplace injury lead to less than a week’s downtime, though the minority can be much longer than that.

What’s the trend over time?

According to HSE figures, the rate of injury is trending downwards, though there are signs that this decrease is plateauing. These figures are taken from the Labour Force Survey and extrapolated to cover the entire UK workforce, so they can be taken with a grain of salt.

Which are the most dangerous industries?

Several industries stand out as having a significantly higher injury rate. These are agriculture, forestry and fishing; construction; manufacturing; vehicle repair; wholesale retail; and food service. Employers in these industries would be well advised to take particular measures to ensure the safety of the workplace as a whole.

If you’ve been injured and don’t believe that the work environment was made sufficiently safe, then you might seek the services of a personal injury solicitor to obtain a remedy.

Reducing the chance of an injury occurring

Now that we know all of this, how can we reduce the likelihood of an injury in the workplace?

Risk Assessment

Every workplace is different, and therefore it’s difficult to prescribe general safety remedies which apply equally to everyone. The first step for ensuring safety should therefore be a risk assessment – list all of the areas where an injury might occur, and then take steps to remedy them.

PPE

Staff should be given the equipment they need to protect themselves. This might mean facemasks, goggles, protective gloves, or substantial work boots.

Training

The right training can prevent injuries before they happen. In physical work, this might mean yoga and stretching; or it might mean having procedures in place which get rid of trailing cables, and which prevent workers from lifting heavy loads alone.

It’s a common misconception that the American health care industry is making money hand over first during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the contrary, the American health care industry has suffered significant shortfalls, and many clinics and hospitals have been forced to close with over $200 billion in losses.

The COVID-19 pandemic has filled hospitals beyond capacity and forced them to cancel elective procedures, like joint replacements, tumor removals, and cardiac surgeries, which make up nearly half of a hospital’s revenue.

What’s more, the high level of unemployment rates has resulted in more invoices going to collections.

Ethical Medical Collection Agencies

Of course, hospitals need to recover their revenue in order to meet their operational costs. Here, many turn to debt collection agencies with ethical medical collection solutions to recover payments from former patients the right way.

Aside from taking a principled approach to debt collection, good medical debt collection agencies have many of the following characteristics:

• They have experience working with hospitals, clinics, and other health care organizations.
• They offer complete HIPAA-compliance to preserve the security and privacy of patient data.
• They carry a no-complaint policy.
• Their staff is experienced, knowledgeable, licensed, professional, and empathetic.
• Complete transparency through progress reports.
• A + rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
• They have affiliations with reputable medical associations for a unique insight into the debt recovery demands during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• They carry testimonials from health care professionals and patients about the agency’s diplomatic and compassionate approach.

Pre-Collection Services

Many hospitals and clinics are outsourcing all their collection need to debt recovery agencies that can represent them professionally with zero patient complaints. Here are some pre-collection services that medical recovery agencies offer:

• Patient billing
• Telephone follow-ups
• Insurance follow-ups
• Patient Q&A

By outsourcing their busy-work to competent professionals who convert unpaid invoices into cash for a living, the health care industry can concentrate on patient care, finding efficiencies, and finding ways to survive during the pandemic.

What Is the Statute of Limitations on Medical Debt?

All types of debt, including medical, has a statute of limitations. The statute depends on the nature of the debt and local state laws and can range from three to ten years. Once the statute has been surpassed, a health care facility can’t take further legal action over the debt. That being said, a health care organization can still contact the patient about the debt, even after the statute has been exceeded.

Usually, there’s no need to pursue legal action over medical debt. Most patients want to pay their dues and simply victims of circumstance. Many are willing to cooperate with debtors and debt collection agencies to find a way to clear their debt.

Why Should I Partner with an Ethical Medical Debt Collection Agency?

Although it’s essential for any organization to collect revenue, it’s important to partner with ethical collection agencies because some agencies take things too far. They may harass patients, lie to them, blackmail them, or threaten them. Not only are these tactics immoral, but they’re also against the law.

Use the right methods to recover the medical debt in order to maintain your reputation and your relationships with your patients. Aggressive tactics are simply uncalled for in the age of COVID-19.