Accidents happen — or, so they say. While there are freak accidents not associated with any fault, rarely does this happen in the workplace. The truth is, most work accidents and injuries are entirely preventable. This is why it is so important to track emerging trends in workplace accidents and injuries to determine where problems lie in the workplace. One or several overseeing bodies, such as OSHA, can set regulations for employers to help prevent these workplace accidents and their resounding injuries from occurring.
However, just because a regulation is in place does not mean an employer will follow it correctly. Worker training, machine maintenance and other factors can cause an Ohio worker to become injured, through no fault of their own.
A recent study linked company mergers as a precursor to worker injuries as blending of companies can cause proper machine maintenance or utilization to go overlooked, thus resulting in worker injury. Fatigue is also a contributing factor in many worker industries, especially for those who are required to work night shifts, long shifts or irregular shifts.
Many believe that the older one becomes, the more likely they are to be injured at work. A study actually disproved this, finding that the majority of those injured non-fatally at work, are young workers (aged 15-24). They suffer disproportionately from all workplace injuries, with a nonfatal injury rate estimated to be two times higher than compared against workers age 25 or over. Those employed in the nursing industry and freight commercial trucking have high rates of work injury compared to other industries.
In conclusion, several factors can impact the probability for work injury. They include age, industry worked and even if a company is in the process of a merger. Fatigue can cause injury to workers as their ability to make decisions in the workplace is impaired. There can be several contributing factors that affect a worker’s injury. Understanding what may have impacted one’s injury or a loved one’s work injury is paramount to moving forward.