Pennsylvania is home to numerous blue collar jobs – unfortunately, this also means that there are a lot of men and women who get injured on the job. Some who get injured while working choose to apply for worker’s compensation, as they are losing wages and need medical care; however many go about it in the wrong way.
Pennsylvania’s acceptance rate for workers’ compensation claims, is unfortunately, notoriously low. In 2014 alone, 3,364 applications were submitted for workers compensation, but only about 33% of them actually ended up being accepted. In 2009, there were over 4.1 million workers who were injured on the job.
Although over time, the national number of injured workers in both the private and public industries has decreased, there are still numerous risks to being employed in a blue collar job:
- In 2010 alone, nearly 4,690 American workers died while on the job, which is a 3% increase from 2009.
- In 2010 roughly 50,000 Americans died from diseases caught at the workplace.
- In 2008, there were 104,285 work injury and illness cases reported, in Pennsylvania alone.
- In addition to this, fatalities also increased to 154 in 2008.
- In 2007, there were 115,845 work injury and illness cases reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry alone. That doesn’t include the incidents that weren’t reported.
- Out of the 12 major industry divisions, a whopping 10 of them showed an increase in injuries in 2007.
- In 2006 there were 110,657 work injury and illness cases reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
- In 2006 there was also an 8.2% increase in work injuries and illnesses from 2005.
- In 2005, just over 100,000 work injury and illness cases were reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
The list goes on and on, and as you can see, there is a huge amount of people who are harmed on the job by dangerous machinery, carelessness, or sleep deprivation.
Interestingly enough, the injuries aren’t exclusive to one group of people; there are reports of all categories of people being injured, from the young to the old, and from men to women. Unfortunately, however, men in their 40’s and 50’s are most at risk:
- In 2010, 12.3% of all reported injuries occurred to people from the ages of 50 to 54. This was the highest percentage of any age group in 2010.
- In 2010, 12% of all reported injuries occurred to people from the ages of 45 to 49, which was the second highest percentage of any age group in 2010.
- In 2009, roughly 62% of those who reported injuries on the job were men.
- In 2009, workers from the ages of 45 to 49 had the highest number of injuries. Workers from the ages of 50 to 54 had the second highest number of injuries.
- In 2007, a whopping 68% of reported injuries happened to men.
- In 2006, the median age for an injured worker was 41.
As you can clearly see, men in their 40’s and 50’s are most at risk, but there are steps you can take to prepare yourself:
- Don’ get injured on the job! This may sound obvious, but preventing injury is the number one way to avoid all of the financial pain and emotional turmoil that comes with it. Stay alert on the job, and if you don’t feel like you can, tell your boss. Your health and safety are more important than working a few extra hours.
- If you do happen to get injured, don’t apply for workers’ compensation by yourself! Hire a competent, knowledgeable lawyer to help you through the process step by step.
As was said before, in 2010 only about 33% of workers’ compensation claims were accepted. By getting a good lawyer on your side, your odds will increase drastically.
It’s best to hire a lawyer who specializes in workers comp, like the lawyers over at https://robinsonlwyr.com/ – they have helped countless men and women get the compensation that they deserve, and they can help you too.
Sources: https://www.edgarsnyder.com/workers-compensation/information/workers-compensation-statistics.html
