Lifting Injuries at Work
Lifting injuries on the job are common, and workers can suffer debilitating injuries that can take extended periods of time to heal. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), lifting injuries are classified as overexertion and bodily reaction injuries, meaning that they “result from excessive physical effort directed at an outside source of injury.” In addition to lifting injuries, work that involves pulling, pushing, throwing, and carrying also falls into this category. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) underscores that lifting in particular is responsible for a majority of back injuries in the workplace, and those injuries can become disabling for many workers.
What should you know about lifting injuries at work? Our Maryland workers’ compensation attorneys can provide you with more information.
Where Do Lifting Injuries Occur?
There are a wide range of job types and professions that require lifting, from those that require light and medium lifting abilities to those that require significant strength. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) cites all of the following as jobs that require some degree of regular on-the-job lifting:
- Restaurant waitstaff;
- Airport employees, especially baggage handlers;
- Teachers;
- Laundry and dry-cleaning workers;
- Health care workers, especially nurses and nursing home employees;
- Stockers;
- Landscapers and groundskeepers;
- Mechanics;
- Construction workers;
- Childcare workers;
- Animal caretakers;
- Delivery truck drivers;
- Maintenance workers;
- Material moving occupations; and
- Warehousing work; and
- Transportation occupations.
Jobs in construction, warehousing, and health care tend to require the most lifting, along with “very heavy strength,” according to the BLS.
Getting the Facts About Lifting Injuries on the Job
Improper lifting techniques, as well as repetitive lifting requirements, can result in lifting injuries. According to OSHA, about 75 percent of all work-related back injuries occur during lifting tasks, and back injuries account for about 20 percent of all reported work-related injuries. OSHA describes work-related back injuries as “a significant source of disability” that commonly result in “workers’ compensation claims, days away from work, and lost productivity.”
In addition to back injuries, lifting tasks can also result in the following types of injuries:
- Muscle strains;
- Muscle sprains;
- Pinched nerves;
- Hernias;
- Shoulder injuries;
- Wrist injuries;
- Elbow injuries;
- Knee injuries;
- Rotator cuff injuries;
- Foot injuries;
- Tendonitis;
- Vertebrae fractures;
- Spinal cord injuries;
- Herniated discs; and
- Slipped discs.
Proper lifting techniques can help to prevent lifting injuries, and OSHA emphasizes that it is important for employers to ensure that employees have appropriate safe lifting training. Yet it is essential for any injured employee to know that, even if a lifting injury resulted from an improper lifting technique, it is still possible to obtain workers’ compensation benefits.
Contact a Maryland Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
Employees in many different types of jobs in Maryland can sustain severe lifting-related injuries. These injuries can be traumatic, or they can result from regular heavy lifting over a period of time. Regardless of whether a lifting injury results from a single traumatic event or a series of events over time, it may be compensable through the Maryland workers’ compensation system. It is important to seek legal advice from an experienced Maryland workers’ compensation lawyer at the Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC as soon as you can. Contact us today to discuss your work injury and your next steps for seeking workers’ compensation benefits.
Sources:
osha.com/blog/proper-lifting-techniques
injuryfacts.nsc.org/work/safety-topics/overexertion-and-bodily-reaction/
bls.gov/ors/factsheet/strength.htm
