Contrary to what the majority of people believe, construction work or the manufacturing sector are not the most dangerous industries to work in. Surprisingly, the healthcare industry is the most dangerous industry to work in. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), more workers are injured in the healthcare industry than any other.

Types of Healthcare Industry Work-Related Injuries

Healthcare workers face a few specific and unique workplace hazards. These types of hazards include:

Accidents happen — that is why there is such a thing as workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation is an insurance program that was designed to help those who are hurt on the job and have suffered injuries that prevent them from working, or limit what they can do. One of the injuries that you can file a workers’ compensation claim for is carpal tunnel syndrome, an injury of the hand and wrist.

What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve, one of the major nerves that runs through the hand, is stretched or compressed, causing damage. Carpal tunnel syndrome is considered a progressive injury, which means it can get worse over time if you do not treat it right away. Without treatment, carpal tunnel syndrome can lead to permanent nerve damage.

Accidents happen--that is why all employers in Illinois are required to carry insurance for workers who get injured on the job. Workers’ compensation covers medical costs for all employees if they are hurt on the job and pays for expenses such as doctor’s visits, surgery, hospital stays, medication and physical therapy. In the case that an injury or illness makes you unable to work, you could be able to receive disability benefits, which vary based on whether the injury or illness is partial or full, or if it is temporary or permanent.

Temporary Partial Disability

When you are still healing from a work-related injury or illness, but are able to work part-time or have limited ability of what you can do at work, you might be eligible for temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits. This means that you are not earning as much as you would have been earning pre-injury. TPD benefits are usually two-thirds of the difference between your pre-injury weekly wage and your post-injury weekly wage. These benefits are paid to you until you are healed and can return to work.

Unfortunately, in the United States, car crashes are not uncommon--and the majority of crashes are caused by driver error. In the U.S., 34,439 fatal car crashes occurred in 2016, taking 37,461 lives. Even if you are a responsible, safe driver and obey all traffic laws, you cannot assume that other drivers are doing the same thing. If you have been in a car crash that is not your fault, you should not be held responsible for the damages or loss of life that happen due to the crash. Understanding the common causes of crashes can help you to drive safely and can aid in filing a car accident claim if a crash resulted in damages.

1. Distracted Driving

Each year, distracted driving is the cause of more crashes. Information published by New Virginia Tech found that when drivers engaged in behavior that distracted them from driving, it more than doubled their chances of crashing. Distracted driving behaviors include:

Losing a loved one is hard, and it’s even harder when their death is the result of negligence. In this case, family members may choose to file a wrongful death lawsuit, seeking damages, usually in the monetary form. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, death from unintentional injuries is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, meaning wrongful death is unfortunately uncommon.

What Is Wrongful Death?

Wrongful death is any death that is caused by another person’s recklessness or negligence. According to the state of Illinois, wrongful death is defined as death due to another person’s, company’s or corporation’s intentional, negligent or misconduct. Some common examples of wrongful death include:

The weather is getting warmer and that means that motorcycle enthusiasts are waking their bikes from their winter hibernation. May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month and is desperately needed in Illinois. According to the Chicago Tribune, nationwide motorcycle accident deaths have dropped 5.6 percent since last year, while the rate of motorcycle accident deaths has continued to increase in Illinois, with 162 in 2017.

What Drivers Should Know about Motorcyclists

A Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education (ABATE) of Illinois is an organization that supports the education of all motorists to reduce the number of traffic accidents involving motorcycles. In response to Motorcycle Awareness Month, ABATE has the following facts for drivers to consider when they encounter a motorcycle on the road:

According to a study published in the journal Neurology, even relatively minor brain injuries carry an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease, a neurodegenerative disorder.

The Study

Researchers studied 325,870 veterans whose health data was recorded from 2002 to 2014 to explore the correlations between traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and the development of Parkinson’s Disease. Of those who developed Parkinson’s Disease, 65% percent had previously had a TBI ranging from mild to severe in nature.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were an estimated 6,296,000 car accidents reported to police in 2015. An estimated 737,100 of those were hit-and-run accidents. In Illinois alone, 313,316 crashes were recorded in 2015. Hit-and-run accidents can be stressful and take an emotionally toll on the victim. Hit-and-run accidents can also be expensive - unexpected medical bills and vehicle reparations can put a dent in your finances. Understanding what a hit-and-run accident is, common causes of them and what you should do after an accident will be pertinent to getting the compensation you deserve.

What Is a Hit-and-Run Accident?

A hit-and-run accident is when a person flees the scene of the crash before giving any information to the other person involved in the accident or if they fail to report the crash. According to Illinois state law, all accidents involving death or personal injury must be reported to police within 30 minutes of the incident, or you will face criminal charges.

Head injuries are one of the most serious types of injuries a person can experience, and unfortunately, head injuries at the workplace are not uncommon. If your head injury is caused by a misplaced object, poorly maintained work environment, or by another worker, it may have been preventable.

How Head Injuries Occur

Head injuries commonly occur in the workplace from the following causes:

National Distracted Driving Awareness Month is taking place this month. Every car crash resulting from distracted driving could have been prevented if the driver had given their full attention to the road. Despite this, distracted driving continues to be a significant cause of car crashes and resulting injuries. In 2013, a US Department of Transportation study found that distracted driving was related to 10 percent of all crashes resulting in death and 18 percent of crashes resulting in injury.

Types of Distractions

Distracted driving can include any type of mental, physical, or visual task that takes a person’s concentration away from the road. Common distractions include:

With the increased availability and use of ride-sharing services, the question of who is liable for an accident and injuries sustained during the accident is becoming more common. Pursuing a claim as a result of an automobile accident injury is something to consider carefully as part of ensuring the cost of medical treatment, future care needs and lost wages are covered.

Determining Who Is Liable

While the thought of pursuing a big claim against one of the country’s large ride-sharing companies, the likelihood of doing so is usually quite rare. In most cases one would file a suit with the driver of the vehicle:

We frequently use this space to present relevant information pertaining to work-related injuries and deaths, high-risk careers and other workers’ compensation related topics. The array of variables and nuances impacting this important social and legal issue literally fill pages and pages of books and require copious amounts of time both in and out of the courtroom. This time around we are taking a closer look at reports indicating high-risk worker groups.

Age and Gender Play a Role

As workers and employers strive to provide and sustain equal footing in the employment market for both men and women, some evidence suggests that there is an area in which women have an edge, especially as they get older. One Canadian study presented evidence that older women are more likely to sustain an on-the-job injury than their younger counterparts. Some of the findings included:

When workers are injured or become ill it is not uncommon for them to take advantage of disability leave time in order to mend and heal. However, in some cases, an employee is able to work while undergoing treatment for an illness or accept a light-duty role. In such scenarios, it is important to ensure employers are making reasonable accommodations despite one’s inability to perform their job at the same level as prior to the injury or illness.

Suburban Police Officer Battling Cancer and Employer

In one case, a suburban police officer is claiming his municipal employer is guilty of violating the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it terminated a light-duty assignment he was performing while undergoing and recovering from treatments for cancer:

Many have expressed the opinion that justice is available only to those who can afford it. While that is not what the founding fathers had in mind, the evidence supporting that view seems to be growing. However, with the availability of alternative legal support and limited scope representation the opportunities for pursuing rightful claims are expanding.

Ala Carte Legal Services Made Available

In 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court made a decision that resulted in greater access to competent legal services for lower and middle-income residents who do not qualify for legal aid based on their income. The creation of limited scope representation services is seen to have leveled the playing field:

There may be fewer things more frustrating than sustaining an injury while on the job. While accidents happen, injuries caused by performing repetitive activity or motion to complete a required are no less harmful. Workers and employers alike must take steps to monitor for repetitive motion injuries, especially when they occur as part of one’s daily duties.

Common Types of Repetitive Motion Injuries

Arms and hands are the most common targets of repetitive motion injuries. While one might think these types of injuries are suffered only by those who perform physical labor as a career choice, these types of injuries also are suffered by those who work in offices or other non-physical roles. Here are descriptions of a couple of the most commonly occurring repetitive motion injuries.

At one time when an individual reached a certain age, often that age was 65, he or she would retire from the workforce, collect a pension, and move somewhere warm. However, as more and more people continue working into their 60s and even 70s, employers and workplace safety advocates have become aware that on-the-job safety has taken on new importance to protect an aging workforce from workplace injuries and accidents.

Age and Experience

Reports indicate that in 2010, workers age 55 or older represented more than 19 percent of the workforce and that is expected to increase to over 25 percent by the year 2020. Furthermore, by the year 2036, the number of “older” workers is expected to double. This anticipated increase is expected to affect drastically the cost of rehabilitation and compensation plans.

Because there is virtually no federal role in workers’ compensation the payments and costs related to workplace injuries vary widely from state to state. In fact, a recent study showed that medical payments were as much as 24 percent higher in Illinois than the median cost in all other states.

What Is the Cause?

It is no secret that expenses related to insurance premiums and workers’ compensation expenses are factors that many employers weigh when considering whether or not to locate an operation in a particular state.

It is a known fact that simply by getting out of bed in the morning a person risks injury. The same can be said for those who leave the house to go to their jobs. While workers’ compensation laws are in place to protect employees who are injured on the job, the knowledge that some types of employment are far riskier than others does not stop people from seeking those dangerous jobs.

Careers That Come with Built-In Risk

Despite the knowledge that some jobs come with an inherent risk or history of high incident of injury or death, it does not dissuade some, for whatever reason, for seeking out and filling those job openings. Sometimes it is due to a family connection, sometimes out of sheer need, but whatever reason, there are individuals who willingly fill employment positions that expose them to risks of bodily harm.

It is hard to imagine anything more distressful and heartbreaking than the sudden death of a loved one due to an accident or some kind of negligence. Pursuing a wrongful death suit often helps family members find some type of closure while requiring parties at fault to correct flaws in systems, procedures, manufacturing or other processes.

It Should Never Have Happened

When deaths occur due to accidents or some type of negligence, what everyone needs to realize is that these occurrences are not confined simply to the home or place of work. While wrongful deaths occur in these locations, recent news illustrates that tragedy can strike when one least expects it.

When a family member suffers a catastrophic injury the immediate reaction is often a mixture of grief and anger. This is especially true if incidents leading up to the injury include a number of unanswered questions. A recent news report illustrated how misunderstandings, miscommunication, and negligence can have tragic consequences.

Man Left Clinging to Life

An Illinois family has filed a lawsuit after a man was detained by Chicago police for what amounted to a clerical error, suffered a massive brain injury as a result of hanging while in police custody. The details of the case being reported are both sad and confusing.