If You Get Hurt at Work, Should You Lose Your Job?
People deserve to have their right to work protected. Unfortunately, this isn’t always what happens. Recently, an article was published discussing a study that showed that employees who suffer an injury while at work are far more likely to lose their job within six months than their uninjured colleagues. This is a serious problem because people who suffer an injury might have issues finding a new job. Some of the most common personal injuries that someone might suffer on the job include back injuries, neck injuries, and shoulder injuries.
The study shows that, while people who suffer an injury are more likely to lose their job, the reason why is still unclear. Experts have been looking at analytics from various databases, trying to uncover a reason why injured workers lose their jobs. Furthermore, people who suffer multiple injuries at work are also more likely to lose their job.
One of the most common reasons why people get hurt at work has to do with inadequate training. A significant proportion of injuries take place during the first few months in which someone is learning a new job. This is a reflection of poor training on behalf of the employer. Furthermore, the rapid pace of job turnover only increases the chances that someone will get hurt.
In addition, the research study shows that regulations on both the state and federal level are not always followed. These regulations state that workers who get hurt on the job need to be given sufficient time to recover and should be entitled to workers’ compensation. These regulations are not enforced as stringently as they should. According to DePaolo & Zadeikis, “medical costs that result from a severe car accident, a traumatic brain injury, defective products or other damaging incidents can wind up costing victims like you tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
It is critical for anyone who has been hurt on the job to seek appropriate medical care as quickly as possible. For example, someone who has suffered a back injury due to heavy lifting at work needs to make sure they have access to trained medical professionals. Some of the most common back injuries that someone might suffer at work include a pinched nerve, a herniated disk, and vertebral compression fractures. Some of these injuries might require surgery. This lengthens the recovery time. During this period of time, some employers might get frustrated and could hire someone to replace an injured worker. For this reason, everyone needs to know their rights.
There are supposed to be regulations in place to protect people against losing their jobs due to job loss. If people do not know their rights, they might end up losing their jobs. Nobody should ever have to lose their job due to injury.
