Self-employment, like any working arrangement, has its pros and cons. More freedom and independence but longer hours and irregular paychecks, for example.
Another downside of self-employment often goes overlooked: the higher rate of work-related fatalities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, fatal injury rates are consistently greater among self-employed workers - in fact, more than four times higher than their wage-and-hour counterparts.
The growing number of lawsuits generated by the opioid epidemic are clear evidence that the problem is out of control. Recently, a number of these lawsuits have included prominent pain doctors. These doctors helped expand the use of addictive opioids in the treatment of pain. In some cases, they profited directly or indirectly from the makers of these dangerous drugs, including Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Endo Health Solutions and Allergan.
Pain management is an important part of medical care. It is necessary for the treatment of many conditions. In some cases, doctors are placed in a difficult situation when a client with real pain management problems also demonstrates a vulnerability to addiction. While there are gray areas, there are also cases where doctors violate the standard of care and dole out prescriptions that do more harm than good.
No one can afford to be distracted while driving. It is impossible to operate a motor vehicle safely while also completing any of the myriad tasks smartphones can perform. While no driver can afford to succumb to distraction, younger drivers are particularly susceptible to accidents caused by distraction. The experience and judgment that make safe driving possible are absent in new drivers. When combined with attention-grabbing phones, it is recipe for tragedy.
Teens are ignoring the law
The deaths of four workers earlier this year in two separate industrial accidents in south-central Pennsylvania illustrates the dangers that many workers face on the job every day.
In February, three workers died and two more injured at the Manitowoc Cranes plant on a windy day in what was reported as an “outside crane accident.” Then in March, a teenage worker was killed when heavy machinery fell on him at Mellon Manufacturing.
New employees are three times more likely to become injured on the job compared to those who have been on the job for more than a year, according to research from the Institute for Work & Health. While workers are settling into their new roles and becoming familiar with coworkers and supervisors, their safety may not be at the forefront of their thinking.
Why are new employees at higher risk?
Industrial workers, construction workers and miners are exposed to all kinds of hazardous substances on the job. One of the most common is silica dust. With particles 100 times smaller than sand, silica can readily enter the lungs and cause permanent damage, including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and kidney failure. Excess silica exposure can also cause silicosis, an occupational disease where particles accumulate in the lungs, leading to inflammation, lesions and buildup of scar tissue. In severe cases, it can be fatal.
It's every motorcyclist's worst nightmare: having your brakes fail, unexpectedly and without warning, at the very moment you need them the most. It's all the more dire when you later learn that the failure was a result of defective brakes - and that the bike's manufacturer knew about the problem but failed to do anything about it.
That's essentially what happened in a recent Georgia case. Following a contentious trial, the jury found that defective brakes contributed to the crash of a postal worker in August of 2013. The victim was riding a 2006 Suzuki GSX R-1000 when his front brakes failed and he got thrown from the bike. At least two other GSX riders reported similar incidents with front brake failures.
When an elderly or vulnerable loved one is hospitalized, you expect them to be treated with the utmost of care. That means taking steps to prevent your loved one from falling. Unfortunately, hospital falls are far too common, and they can cause serious injuries – especially in patients whose health is already fragile.
In construction work, dangers come from all corners: powerful equipment, heavy machinery, electrical hazards and, of course, heights. Gravity is the single biggest peril construction workers face. Whether you regularly work at high elevations - for example, as a roofer or sheet metal worker - or only do so for occasional jobs, it's important to be proactive about fall protection.
Here are three things that every construction worker should know about working at heights:
When it comes to driving, technology is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, features like autobraking, adaptive headlights, electronic stability control, blind spot detection and lane departure warnings have made cars demonstrably safer. Yet other technologies are a mixed bag. Many semi-autonomous vehicle features fall into the latter category.
With the race to make self-driving cars available to the average consumer, forward-thinking auto manufacturers such as Tesla are increasingly incorporating these features. The problem is that consumers tend to overestimate their capabilities.
The Injured Worker’s Guide to Compensation Law in Pennsylvania by Attorney Kristopher Januzzi is available for free!
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