Restaurant Workplace Injuries Common, and Costly

The U.S. restaurant industry is a booming business, including in Rhode Island, and employs about 10% of the overall workforce. Given its large size and number of staff, it’s no surprise that workplace injuries are a common, and inevitable occurrence. Cuts, burns, and slip & falls are common injuries for those employed in restaurants. As Rhode Island personal injury attorneys, Tapalian Law has assisted many clients injured in the workplace with their workers compensation claims. Fortunately, the bulk of restaurant injuries and accidents, though common, are of low severity and only require minor medical care. However, more severe injuries can prove to be very costly, not only monetarily, but also physically and mentally, to the injured. A serious workplace injury will often include multitudes of medical bills, hospital expenses, and wages lost from time out of work.

Why Are Restaurant Employee Injuries So Prevalent?

Anyone who has worked in the Rhode Island restaurant industry knows how fast-paced it is. Whether working as a server or bartender, or in the kitchen, potential harm lurks everywhere. Common worker injuries in the kitchen are burns, especially in restaurants where food is fried. Hot fryer oil can cause second and third degree burns resulting in permanent injury needing extensive care. Not only can hot oil splash while cooking, but spilled oil is slippery and can lead to slip & falls. Slip & falls, sprains, and strains from heavy lifting of boxes or deliveries, can be quite serious and require a long rehabilitation process and physical therapy. As any restaurant employee knows, food prep is a daily task and slicing, dicing, and cutting by both kitchen staff and servers constitutes a great number of kitchen-related mishaps as well. Cuts can be minor but if deep or infected, can quickly become grave. Although only 2 percent of restaurant workplace injuries are considered severe, according to the National Restaurant Association these cases can incur workers compensation claims of $100,000 or more. Incidentally, California has a much higher rate of serious restaurant workplace injuries than average, 31% of accidents are severe, according to a 2015 Workers Compensation Best Practices Report.

How Can Common Restaurant Workplace Injuries Be Prevented?

Proper training is the number one way to can avoid workplace injury. It is imperative that employers in all industries, including the restaurant industry, provide thorough training for employees to assist in the prevention of workplace injuries. The most common types of injuries that occur in restaurants include cuts, lacerations, slips, trips, and falls. Burns, scalds, sprains, strains, and soft-tissue injuries follow these. If you are a parent with a working teenager, ensure they are receiving proper and adequate training as workplace injuries are a common hazard for teenagers, particularly in a food establishment. If safety equipment is needed for the job, the employer should provide the required equipment and maintain its proper working condition. In addition to preventing personal harm to employees by providing training, employers must also follow OSHA regulations.

Why Hire a Personal Injury Attorney to Assist with your Workers’ Compensation Claim?

Healing from a severe workplace injury can take weeks, months, even years, and result in lost wages for the victim thereby making it difficult to provide for their family and pay bills. You may be unable to work again, or unable to work in the same capacity as before you were hurt, resulting in lost, or decreased, pay. After a serious work-related injury, it is to your advantage to have a personal injury attorney experienced with Rhode Island workers compensation on your side to negotiate on your behalf. Sometimes a lump-sum settlement can be negotiated by your injury lawyer to recover damages experienced from your loss. There are many details involved in a worker’s compensation claim and it is to your benefit to have the experience of Tapalian Law on your side to ensure what you are being offered is fair and just. Accidents can change people’s lives dramatically, as well as affect those of their family and loved ones. A workplace injury can be debilitating, cause permanent disputation, scarring, bone damage, and require extended physical therapy, and future surgeries. The full impact of the accident may not be realized until down the road. Be prepared with the help of David Tapalian and his knowledgeable staff. Call us today at 401-552-5000 to discuss the details of your Rhode Island or Massachusetts workers compensation claim, with no-obligation and no fee.