Recently, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a study confirming that falling remains one of the leading causes of unintentional injury deaths in the United States. Ladder falls account for a staggering 43% of these falling deaths. In the construction industry, an even higher percentage of falls involve ladders. Eighty-one percent of those treated for a construction fall at a hospital said they fell from a ladder. Scaffolding falls also account for a notable percentage of Michigan injuries.
Shoulder injuries and broken bones, though, are not the only consequence of falling off a ladder or a piece of scaffolding. The CDC reports that, of the approximately 15,000 ladder falls in 2011, which resulted in at least one day of missed work, over 100 falls were fatal. As this blog has recently reported, Michigan has not been immune from fatal falls.
While those fatalities become headline news, we know that, for every death, there is likely another one to two hundred workers who fell and were seriously injured. As a result, they likely missed time from work and incurred significant medical expenses.
While most workers take workers’ compensation and other benefits for granted, there are complications which may upset their ability to recover the full value of their damages. As a result, local Saginaw area attorneys have committed themselves to mastering the legal landscape and ensuring these injured workers recoup the maximum amount allowed.
Too often, workers will lose out on significant compensation and recovery because of an arcane exception or caveat which may not actually apply. Workers and their families that wish to avoid losing out on monies they are entitled to are encouraged to contact a local workers comp expert for advice should they be unlucky enough to fall from a ladder.
Source: EHS Today, “CDC: There’s Nothing ‘Easy’ About Falling Off a Ladder,” Sandy Smith, May 2, 2014