Louisiana Workplace Accident Attorneys
Accidents can happy at any time while at work. Whether the accident is the result of employer negligence or employee carelessness, employers have a responsibility to protect their workers from injury or harm. In fact, an employer could potential face liability charges if their negligence led to an accident. Even if a worker’s own behavior caused an accident, the employer is still responsible for ensuring that the worker is safe if the incident occurred on company time or on company property. Fortunately, Louisiana workplace accident attorneys exist to help employees who have been injured while on the clock.
Types of Workplace Accidents
While some accidents can be random and have almost nothing to do with the environment or the situation, there are at least 10 common injuries that can occur in the workplace including injuries due to:
- Overexertion
- Slipping or tripping
- Falling from heights
- Chemical reactions
- Falling objects
- Walking into objects
- Vehicle accidents
- Machine entanglement
- Repetitive motion
- Violent acts
Training, proper safety equipment, and diligence are instrumental elements to reducing the occurance of workplace accidents. However, accidents do occur; if you have suffered from one or more of these injuries at your place of employment, consider seeking counsel from Louisiana workplace accident attorneys who can help you to analyze the situation.
Who is to Blame?
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), employers are entirely responsible for ensuring that their working conditions are healthy and safe to each and every employee. Failing to maintain a safe working environment free of danger and hazards could result in penalties and citations. By the same token, employers are also responsible for incidents that occur not only on company property but also on company time away from the site of employment such as a training class, employee travel like lunches or breaks.
Employers must eliminate hazards that are likely to cause physical harm or death to their workers. While they must always keep environments safe, employers may not always be liable for accidents. For example, if a worker’s substance abuse led to an incident such as being intoxicated while operating a forklift, the employer may not be held accountable for the worker’s actions and ensuring accident.
Every employer must purchase workers’ compensation insurance to pay for medical coverage in the event that a worker suffers an injury on the job. In most cases, a worker will receive this compensation regardless of who was at fault for the accident. However, the employee may also seek additional compensation from other third parties who may not have been present at the time of the accident. For instance, if a worker was operating a forklift provided to the company by a third party and the accelerator on the forklift stuck, causing an accident, the employee may be entitled to sue the third party for failing to check the safety of the forklift itself. This is why it is vital that you speak with workplace accident attorneys to determine from whom you may be entitled to seek compensation.
Additionally, if you fail to speak with Louisiana workplace accident attorneys and you file for workers’ compensation on your own and later decide that you want to try to obtain additional compensation, chances are you will not be eligible to do so. In other words, once you file a workers’ compensation claim, your case will be deemed closed.
Chemical Plant Explosion
In an industrial area of Geismar south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a chemical plant explosion wounded 77 people and killing two others. While 51 out of the 77 workers were treated at the hospital and subsequently released within a few hours, the rest remained in serious or critical condition. The hospitals reported that the employees were suffering from bruises, burns and respiratory and cardiac complications.
The plant was a manufacturing facility of propylene and ethylene – two highly flammable gases that are the fundamental building blocks in the petrochemical industry. An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the explosion while employees and families are considering speaking to workplace accident attorneys to research the rights of their loved ones. Louisiana workplace accident attorneys are already at work looking into what can be done to help the victims of this most recent tragedy.
Contact Us
If you or someone you know has been injured at work, contact Attorney Group for Louisiana today. We will provide you with a free consultation to determine if you are eligible to seek compensation and work with you to ensure that you get the money to which you are entitled. Workplace accidents can be confusing, so it is vital that you speak with one of our affiliated Louisiana workplace accident attorneys to learn more about your rights as an employee.
