Dangers of Prescription Painkillers in the Workplace: Part Two

By Jeffrey S. Friedman | February 7, 2017

Dangers of Prescription Painkillers in the Workplace- Part TwoThe Delaware workers’ compensation lawyers of Silverman, McDonald & Friedman understand that being injured only compounds the stress of being out of work. If you have sustained a serious injury, or developed a work-related illness, that leaves unable to provide for you and your family, we want to help. We invite you to contact our workers’ compensation lawyers in Newark, Seaford or Wilmington workers’ today and schedule a consultation.

Prescription painkillers are making the workplace an even more dangerous place for Delaware employees. In the first part of this two-part series, we discussed why opioid pain medication in particular is so dangerous. Here, we offer information for injured workers who have been prescribed opioids by their doctors.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in an effort to respond to the epidemic of opioid drug abuse, has developed the CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, which helps doctors and other health care providers offer safer, more effective pain management options. The following are tips from the CDC for workers who have been prescribed opioids:

  • Use the pain medication only as instructed by your doctor. Never take them more often or in greater amounts than prescribed.
  • Avoid the following when you are taking opioid pain medications:
  • Alcohol
  • Benzodiazepines (such as Xanax and Valium), unless specifically advised by your doctor
  • Muscle relaxants (such as Soma or Flexeril), unless specifically advised by your doctor
  • Hypnotics (such as Ambien or Lunesta), unless specifically advised by your doctor
  • Other prescription opioid pain relievers
  • Talk to your doctor about creating a plan for how to manage pain, and consider non-opioid options
  • Follow up regularly with your doctor
  • Talk to your doctor about side-effects and concerns
  • Store opioid pain relievers in a safe place which is out of the reach of others.
    • Never share or sell or use anyone else’s prescription opioids
    • Find your community’s drug take-back program to safely dispose of unused prescription pain relievers

Opioid users, according to a National Safety Council research study, tend to overestimate the benefits of opioids and underestimate the risks of addiction or death. Nearly 30 percent of study respondents said that they had taken a prescription opioid pain killer in the past three years. Most of the respondents to the study believed that sharing their prescription pain medications with family or friends is perfectly legal when it is a felony.

Have you been injured in a workplace accident? At Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, we protect our clients’ rights and help them to get fair compensation when they have been injured at work or are dealing with an occupational disease. You are welcome to call 302-888-2900 or fill out our contact form to make an appointment for a case evaluation with a skilled workers’ compensation attorney in Wilmington, Newark or Seaford today. We can help.

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