Eye Injuries at Work

Did you know that nearly 2,000 workers sustain on-the-job eye injuries that require medical treatment every day? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one-third of the injuries are so severe that they result in emergency medical care. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates that employees wear face and eye protection whenever necessary, numerous employers fail to maintain compliant health and safety programs and people get hurt as a consequence.

Types of Work-Related Eye Injuries

OSHA reports that each year, thousands of employees are blinded in preventable workplace accidents. While some people lose their sight permanently, others experience eye injuries resulting from:

• Chemical burns. These can be caused by cleaning products, industrial-grade chemicals, and more;
• Flash burns (from sources like welding, sunlight, etc.);
• Impact injuries from foreign objects, like slivers of wood, nails, or staples, and:
• Scratches or scrapes

There are many different types of protective eye equipment. Depending on the nature of a job, what a worker needs to wear to protect him or herself varies. Some of the most common kinds of protective eye equipment are face shields, goggles, full-face respirators, and safety glasses.

Workplace Hazards Associated With Eye Injuries – And How Employers Should Avoid Them

Employers are responsible for providing safe workplaces, despite the fact that many break the law and frequently put their employees in harm’s way. Plenty of hazardous workplace scenarios result in eye injuries that range from mild to severe. To limit the number of preventable – and often permanent – eye injuries that happen, OSHA requires that employers conduct hazard assessments. Effective hazard assessments enable employers to identify and address fixable dangers on the job before an accident ever happens.

Another way to prevent eye injuries is to determine the appropriate form of protective eyewear for each and every job before it has begun. OSHA has a variety of safety and health standards when it comes to required personal protective equipment, which is also known as PPE.

Filing A Workers’ Compensation Claim

When a person gets hurt at work and his or her injuries require medical attention, it may be time to consider filing a workers’ compensation claim. Someone can file a Workers’ Compensation claim if the injury in question is the result of the employer’s failure to abide by federal safety and health standards. Getting injured in a preventable workplace accident is upsetting and frustrating – and it does not help when financial stressors start to pile up along with time away from the job. Workers’ compensation payments can help to provide some peace of mind after an avoidable accident. To learn more about filing a workers’ compensation claim, please contact our firm directly.

Allentown Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Galfand Berger, LLP Representing Injured Individuals Since 1947

If you were injured in a workplace accident, please contact our Allentown Workers’ Compensation lawyers at Galfand Berger. With offices located in Philadelphia, Bethlehem, Lancaster, and Reading, we serve clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. To schedule a consultation, call us at 800-222-8792 or complete our online contact form.