Imagine working your entire life in an industry that has a high rate of injuries and deaths. Just as you’re approaching retirement, you get into an accident that causes you to suffer from permanent disabilities. Your life is forever changed with just workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability (SSD), among other benefits, to help you make up the difference in income.
In 2015, there were 150 people killed on the job in North Carolina. Some were young and new on the job while others had served at their workplaces for decades. It’s never okay for a worker to fear heading to his or her job because of the potential for workplace accidents, but that’s the reality for many, even in North Carolina.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has existed since 1970, and it requires companies to create safe working conditions. It also gives regulators the duty to act to protect workers when the companies don’t. When companies don’t protect their workers, it’s much more likely that a person will suffer injuries or die, like a 65-year-old man did in 2015. His workplace had a number of safety violations on record, yet he still passed away as a result of a hazard in the workplace.
It is your employer’s obligation to keep you safe on the job. If you find that you are constantly in danger or exposed to hazards in your workplace, you can reach out to OSHA for help. Your attorney can help you file for workers’ compensation if you do suffer an injury and need to pursue compensation moving forward.
Source: Jefferson Post, “Workplace fatalities in NC remain a woefully under-addressed scandal,” William Dworkin, May 01, 2017
