If you’ve been injured or made ill due to unsafe conditions in your workplace, you are not alone. According to the National Safety Council, 7 million work injuries in the U.S. annually result in approximately 99 million days of last productivity each year. This statistic equates to a rate of one work injury affecting an American, resident (documented or undocumented), or migrant every seven seconds.
Unfortunately, Upland-area workers suffer a particularly high rate of worker injury, as so many of the top “dangerous industries” are major employers in and around Upland. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the top 10 most dangerous American industries (in terms of fatal accidents) are:
By contrast, the National Safety Council reports that the top five most dangerous American industries (in terms of non-fatal accidents) are:
If you’ve lived in Upland for any length of time or you travel through Upland frequently, the number of dangerous industries that employ a significant number of our county’s residents likely just startled you. Work accidents are unfortunately all too common in the Upland area.
If you’ve been injured while working in Upland, contact our firm today to explore your legal options. You are entitled to a safe workspace under the law, regardless of your age, job title, immigration status, economic situation, and other personal circumstances. You also – no matter who you are or what your job is – deserve knowledgeable, dedicated, and capable legal representation.
Our firm is proud to represent the injured workers of Upland and the surviving loved ones who have lost family members while they were on the job. We would be honored to evaluate your case and advise you of your legal options accordingly.
The first priority after an accident needs to be the health and wellbeing of the accident victim. If you require emergency medical attention, head to the hospital immediately. Even if you can’t identify any serious injuries, you need to be checked out by an emergency room physician or an urgent care provider.
Your body might not yet show signs of conditions that become apparent over time. You could have whiplash or other soft tissue damage, you could have suffered head trauma or a traumatic brain injury, or you could be bleeding internally. All reporting, legal, and financial concerns can wait until after you’ve been examined by a physician.
Either after you’ve received medical care or while you’re waiting for transportation to the hospital to arrive, try to take pictures of the accident scene and jot down the names and contact information of anyone who witnessed your accident. Depending on the kind of legal action you ultimately decide to take, these details can prove useful.
Similarly, you’ll want to take time (ideally when you’re not taking any pain killers that induce “brain fog”) to either record or write down your memories of the accident. These notes can serve as a helpful reference as well, especially in the event that you choose to file a third-party lawsuit against a responsible party.
Finally, you’ll want to both file an accident report with your employer and contact our firm to explore your legal options. You can contact us at any time, even when you’re en route to the hospital, to better ensure that your rights will remain protected moving forward. If you’re anxious that filing an accident report with your employer will lead to negative consequences at work, feel free to contact us before you file the report.
However, you’ll want to act quickly both in filing the accident report and contacting our firm. The sooner you begin the process of protecting your rights and seeking compensation, the sooner we can begin gathering evidence to support your claim. Depending on your unique circumstances, this evidence could be compromised over time if it isn’t documented quickly.
There are two primary kinds of accident claims that workers file in the wake of sustaining an injury on the job or becoming ill as a result of hazardous working conditions: workers’ compensation claims and third-party personal injury claims. Most workers can only file one or the other, however, there are limited circumstances under which a worker could potentially file both. Regardless of which type of claim you intend to file, it’s a good idea to consult with a legal professional before committing to a plan of action.
Workers’ compensation: If you are employed full-time or part-time and are not classified as an independent contractor, you’re almost certainly eligible to submit a workers’ comp claim in the wake of your workplace accident. There are some eligibility loopholes for employers who only employ a few workers and workers in some specialty industries. But generally, workers who are formal “employees” of a company are covered by the state’s workers’ compensation system. Even though you can technically work with your employer to submit a workers’ comp claim on your own, it’s a good idea to meet with our firm first. Too often, workers’ compensation insurance providers don’t pay workers the maximum amount of benefits that they are owed unless an attorney negotiates on their behalf.
Third-party personal injury claims: If you’re not eligible to file for workers’ compensation benefits, you can work with our firm to negotiate privately with the insurance carrier of the business you were working with when you were harmed. You may also choose to file legal action against those responsible for the harm you suffered, whether those responsible parties are people, businesses, organizations, or municipalities.
These personal injury claims must meet the same kinds of general standards that auto accident, defective products, and medical malpractice suits do:
This is a complex legal language that you shouldn’t worry about too much right now. When we perform a case evaluation, we’ll clarify how your unique circumstances either do or do not meet these standards. Chances are that if you were working in an unsafe space and you were hurt as a result of unsafe working conditions, you’ll meet these baseline criteria.
If you’re eligible to file for workers’ compensation benefits, you’re generally prohibited from suing your employer for the harm you’ve suffered. However, you can potentially sue a third-party for the harm they caused you. For example, if you were injured in an accident while driving a truck because your airbag spontaneously inflated, you could potentially file for workers’ comp benefits and sue the airbag manufacturer. If your situation falls into this rare “filing both kinds of claims simultaneously” category, we’ll help you pursue both options.
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. This means that unless you were drunk on the job, intentionally got injured, or started an altercation that resulted in your injury, you should be entitled to receive benefits, even if the accident in question was partially or totally your fault. By contrast, if you’re looking to file a personal injury suit, it will matter very much whether the accident that led to your injury was your fault. If you were partially to blame, you can still potentially hold other responsible parties accountable through legal action. However, if the accident in question was completely your fault, you won’t meet the basic personal injury lawsuit criteria noted above and will therefore not be able to hold others responsible for the harm you’ve suffered.
No matter who you are or what industry you work in, you’re entitled to a safe workspace under the law. Unfortunately, not all employers approach safety concerns as seriously as they should.
Every year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cites thousands and thousands of American businesses with violations of various safety regulations.
The top 10 most frequently cited safety standard violations from October 2018 – September 2019 were:
If your injuries were caused by hazardous working conditions, know that we can help to improve safety at your workplace. To start, we can help you to submit an anonymous work safety complaint to OSHA.
This complaint will likely trigger a safety inspection of your workplace to better ensure that you and your coworkers are being provided the protections you’re entitled to under the law. Your identity as a whistleblower will remain fully confidential, so there is no need to fear retaliation by your employer if you choose to submit such a complaint.
The earliest American labor organizers were primarily concerned with securing fair wages and reasonable working hours for men, women, and children who worked for a living in the U.S. However, over time, these organizers became increasingly concerned with securing safe workplaces for the citizens, residents, and migrants who keep our nation running. Both California and the nation as a whole have made great strides in helping to ensure the safety of workers but there is much work left to be done.
Our firm takes great pride in seeking justice for workers who have been injured on the job and in seeking the compensation that these workers are rightfully owed. We treat each worker’s case with the attention, focus, and dedication that we would spend if our loved ones were in our clients’ shoes. P
lease contact us today for a case evaluation. Whether you need us to secure a maximum amount of workers’ compensation benefits as soon as possible or you’re interested in filing a third-party personal injury lawsuit, we’re here to help you achieve your goals. We’ll handle the complex legal side of your situation so that you can focus on healing and, if possible, returning to work.
Have a question about legal representation? We are here to help. Send us a message and we’ll be in touch within one business day.
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