When you think of a workers’ compensation claim, you think of injuries like those suffered from falling off scaffolding, repetitive motion stress, carpal tunnel syndrome and various workplace illnesses. However, you might be surprised to know that workplace violence is one of the most common reasons cited for workplace injuries in workers’ compensation claims.
In 2012, 375 workers suffered fatal gunshot wounds in the United States. Robbers caused 33 percent of workplace shooting homicides in that year. Meanwhile, coworkers caused 13 percent of the homicides. During the time frame of 1992 through 2012, government workers shot and killed 140 of their coworkers at work. These figures definitely illuminate the real dangers of serious workplace violence.
Twenty percent of workplace violence injuries happen in the following four industries:
— Police and security personnel
— Nursing aides and attendants
— Cleaners and janitors
— Heavy truck and tractor driver
In addition to being dangerous due to violence-related injuries, these industries are also dangerous due to the high amount of physical activity required to do these jobs. This is why these industries are largely considered to be some of the most dangerous job sectors anyone could be in.
New Jersey workers can avoid many workplace violence caused injuries by keeping their wits about them and trying to avoid violent conflict whenever it arises. In the case of an armed robber, workers should never fight them. In the case of a potential altercation with a co-worker, keeping your distance from the other person combined with a nonviolent attitude is often enough to bring a potentially dangerous situation back into equilibrium.
It doesn’t matter how you were injured or whose fault it was. If you got hurt while performing your job duties in New Jersey, you may be able to seek employee benefits to pay for medical care and other benefits by filing a workers’ compensation claim.
Source: Trusted Choice, “10 Most Common Workers Compensation Claims,” accessed Jan. 20, 2017
