Cellphones can be very useful tools in the workplace, but they can also be very dangerous distractions. It is estimated that 3,000,000,000 text messages are sent out each and every day. More and more often, people are using mobile devices so that they can send and receive these messages while they are on the job.
It’s important to remember that this can be just as dangerous for workers as it is for drivers. Texting and driving is a well-known hazard, but this same hazard in the workplace is more often ignored or overlooked. The amount of accidents that happen while people are using their phones has been on the rise.
For example, look at a case involving a forklift driver. He said that he normally did not use his cellphone while he was on the job, not even carrying it around with him. However, his wife was pregnant and going in for an ultrasound, so he was waiting for a text message to find out if she was having a girl or a boy.
When he got the text, another worker walked in front of the forklift. The man driving was looking down at his phone, and he never saw him. He ended up running into the other man and killing him. Needless to say, he lost his job as a result, and the accident turned a day that could have been one of the greatest in his entire life into a day that was undoubtedly one of the worst he had ever experienced.
If you’ve been injured by a distracted co-worker in Pennsylvania, you may be able to seek compensation.
Source: ERI Safety, “CELL PHONES IN THE WORKPLACE: A Dangerous Distraction,” accessed Dec. 31, 2015