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Work can be flat-out dangerous. Every 7 seconds, a Worker is injured on the job in America, which equals out to about 4.6 million injuries per year. These numbers aren’t as high as they are because every job is just as dangerous as the next. The fact is, some jobs are more dangerous than others, and you’re more likely to get injured working in certain occupations. The prevalence and frequency of injuries in these occupations boosts the average rate of injury if you’re looking at injury statistics for all occupations combined.
To increase awareness of workplace injuries and encourage caution, May 1st is International Workers’ Day. To increase your awareness of how dangerous it is to do certain jobs, consider the following list. This shouldn’t deter you from taking a position, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to know what you’re up against.
Agricultural Occupations
Transportation incidents and tractor overturns were the leading causes of Death for farmers and farm workers in 2016. When it comes to non-fatal injuries, about 50 percent of crop-workers reported sprains and strains from 2008 to 2010, no doubt due to overexertion and the physical demands of the job. As for tractor rollovers, farmers could use Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS) to help prevent deaths, but only 62 percent of tractors were equipped with ROPS in 2014.
Veterinarian
Of the respondents, 54 percent were injured trying to restrain an animal, 20 percent were injured during treatment, and 9 percent hurt themselves trying to lift animals or objects. The most common types of injuries were bites, at 52 percent, cuts, lacerations, or scratches, at 31 percent, and bruises or contusions, at 22 percent.
Vets are regularly exposed to scared or upset animals that may act out in unexpected ways. Moreover, the everyday course of the job involves physical activities that may result in injury.
Healthcare Worker
OSHA’s data reveals that the majority of injuries (54 percent) were sprains and strains, which makes sense given the amount and type of movement required to care for patients. Overexertion led to nearly half of the injuries, while interactions with patients were responsible for around one-third of the sick days hospital workers had to take due to injury or illness. The large variety of healthcare occupations in hospitals increases the potential for danger.
Police Officer
Police officers are faced with work-related hazards on a daily basis. When it comes to line of duty deaths in 2019, 24 officers have been killed by purposeful and accidental gunfire (as of this writing). Vehicle-related incidents were the next most common cause of death, with a total of 21 casualties from crashes, motorists who ran into officers, or vehicular assault cases. Another notable cause of death is heart attacks, which have accounted for 7 officer fatalities so far this year.
Other risks to officers include duty-related illness, drowning, and accidents of one sort or another. All told, our civil servants are at risk of injury and death from the widest variety of causes out of anyone on this list.
Construction Laborer
Falls were the leading cause of death, and the next most common cause was getting struck by an object. Electrocution came in as the third most fatal incident, and the fourth was getting squeezed and/or crushed to death between objects.
Many workers employed in the most dangerous professions seem to labor in the background. Buildings go up, food hits the shelves, wounds heal, and criminals get arrested. But without these workers, society wouldn’t be able to function. Keeping them safe is extremely important.
Any worker who is hurt on the job should seek legal advice and go over their Workers’ Compensation Laws with an attorney.
This post first appeared on Nevada Injury & Accident Attorney Blog | Benson & Bingham, please read the originial post: here