From packaged foods, clothing, cars, meats, and grains, factory work keeps America running, but at a high cost – factory workers face an increased risk of becoming sick, injured, or even killed on the job compared to other employees. Simply put, factory jobs can be very unforgiving and inflexible, and even a small error can cause accidents which result in life-altering injuries. If you were injured or a loved one was killed in a factory accident, you should know that you have the right to consult with and hire an attorney to represent you in court if you decide you want to file a claim against the employer seeking the financial compensation to which you are entitled.
Lancaster Factory Worker Accidents
Considering everything that goes into factory work, there are a variety of hazards depending on the factory and the type of work you do every day. Some of the biggest risks, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, include:
- Exposure to harmful chemicals
- Working and breathing the dust that factory work produces – not to mention the myriad of chemicals that are in and on the products being packaged and prepared – can cause a wide array of temporary to permanent and minor to serious damage, from bronchitis to mesothelioma.
- Overexertion
- Doing too much with inadequate food, water, or breaks from physical activity can result in musculoskeletal disorders, a very common injury due to the nature of factory work (i.e., physically demanding, repetitive tasks that require a lot of stamina).
- Transportation incidents
- Forklifts may be able to save your back, neck, and legs from a lot of wear and tear, but they can also cause some pretty serious accidents. You should always practice the utmost caution when working with or near heavy equipment like forklifts.
- Repetitive motion
- When you do the same few motions all day, every day, it can make cause your soft tissue wear down, which means that they can’t provide as much cushioning as you should have, and you may experience a great deal of pain and discomfort, not to mention a host of other related health problems.
- Body movement injuries
- Bending, moving, twisting, reaching, crawling, and other such movements can have a detrimental effect on how your body works to support you. When you do these things without proper support, you can quickly and easily injure yourself, and if you fail to seek the proper attention, you may end up making the damage worse over time.
- Explosions and fires
- Anywhere they happen, these kinds of events can be catastrophic and cause massive amounts of damage not just to structures, but to the people that were in or near them. If you were injured when there was an explosion or fire at your workplace, you may have experienced bad burns, smoke inhalation, or a wide array of physical harm.
You Have the Right to Consult with a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
If you have been injured at your factory job, you have the right to seek compensation; if you want to win adequate compensation, you may want to consider the option of consulting with a knowledgeable and experienced attorney at Elrod Pope Law Firm in the Lancaster, SC area. For a free, no-obligation consultation appointment, call (803) 599-3080. When you come in to our office for your appointment, you will have the opportunity to discuss the details of your case with one of our attorneys that specialize in workers’ compensation cases just like yours. After you tell your story, you will be able to ask more specific questions, and you will get information regarding the process as well as find out more about what you may be able to expect. This will help you understand why hiring an attorney might (or might not) be in your best interest.
Why You Might Want to Hire a Workers Compensation Attorney
There are a myriad of reasons someone in a situation like yours might want to consider hiring a lawyer to represent them. First and foremost, you have much more important things to worry about, like healing. When you experience a workplace accident, you may have anything from superficial, relatively minor to debilitating and life altering injuries. You may have many doctor, therapist, and rehabilitation appointments to tend to, and while the legal things are very important, if you have been injured, you can not hire someone to go to those appointments for you, and many times the longer you put off attending to your physical needs, the worse the damage could be.
Financial damage is another factor many people consider in their decision to hire an attorney. While the physical damage can be devastating in and of itself, the consequences of physical injuries can cost you tons of money now and into the future. Depending on the extent and duration of your injuries, you could be looking at thousands of dollars in medical bills, which may or may not include medication, surgeries, physical therapy, and prosthetics.
Call your Lancaster Workers Comp Attorney Today
With all of the things you have to deal with after you have suffered a factory work injury, let us help you with the legal paperwork and filings so that you can focus on getting better and spending quality time with loved ones. Call us at (803) 599-3080 to schedule your free consultation so that you can get the information you need to decide whether hiring someone to help you through this complex process may be the right choice for you, given your particular needs and wants at this crucial time in your life.
