How Safe Do You Feel on the Job?
If you work in the construction industry or any other industry that is prone to workplace injury and you sustain a serious injury on the job, you may want to discuss your case with a skilled Delaware workers’ compensation attorney from Silverman, McDonald & Friedman. We protect the rights of our clients who have been injured on the job in Wilmington, Newark, Seaford and throughout Delaware.
As an employee, you have a right to a safe work environment. Some workplaces and industries are more dangerous and prone to injury, but even in those industries, employers have the obligation to create as safe a workplace environment as possible, provide personal protective equipment and training that informs the worker about the inherent dangers of their work and what they can do to stay safe on the job. But sometimes, employers are more focused on profit than they are on protecting the health of their employees.
The National Safety Council (NSC), which is the leading safety advocate organization that works to prevent unintentional injuries and death in the United States, published a survey in April 2017 which revealed worker perceptions about the culture of safety in their workplace. In the survey, about 58% of Americans working in construction, which incurs the most workplace fatalities, feel that productivity is more important that safety.*
Furthermore, “51% say management does only the minimum required by law to keep employees safe, and 47% say employees are afraid to report safety issues. By contrast, 36% of the 2,000 full-time and part-time employees in the 14 industries surveyed by NSC feel their employers prioritize productivity over safety.”
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor has oversight for workplaces in this country. According to OSHA, no one should have to be injured or killed for a paycheck. Employers who fail to maintain a safe work environment for their employees, and violate OSHA safety standards can face significant penalties of a worker sustains a serious injury or death because of unsafe working conditions that violate OSHA regulations.
Workers who do sustain a serious injury on the job may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Workers’ compensation is a state program that offers temporary disability payments for workers injured on the job, those who have contracted an occupational disease, or for the family members whose loved one was killed in a workplace accident.
If you are aware of unsafe working conditions, if you know about workers who have been injured but were afraid to report the injury, there are legal protections from retaliation by your employer if you choose to report dangerous safety violations that you see going on at your workplace. A skilled Delaware workers’ compensation lawyer can discuss your case and advise you about possible next steps for taking legal action against your employer and reporting them to OSHA.
Our dedicated workers’ compensation attorneys at Silverman, McDonald & Friedman are here to guide you through the claims process. You are welcome to contact us by calling 302-888-2900 or filling out our contact form to schedule a free consultation with a skilled workers’ compensation lawyer in Wilmington, Newark or Seaford today.
*The 2,000 prescreened, validated and de-duplicate respondents to the NSC survey were balanced according to U.S. Census figures for age, gender, ethnicity, geographic region and whether they were full or part-time employees. Read the full report here.
Attorney Jeffrey S. Friedman joined Silverman, McDonald & Friedman in 2001. He graduated from Widener University School of Law, and is admitted to practice law in Delaware and Pennsylvania, and in several Federal Circuit courts. He areas of concentration include auto accident and workers’ compensation cases. Read more about Attorney Friedman here.