In a national season of seemingly constant bad news, it is always wise to take time to recognize when objectively good news arises. For workers in many sectors here in California, occupational injuries are on the decline. While the decrease is slight, it is an encouraging trend, and one that may indicate workplaces paying extra attention to the safety and well-being of workers in many environments. Just about any way you look at it, this is good news for workers and businesses, plain and simple.
According to California’s Department of Industrial Relation, the incidence rate for all nonfatal occupational ailments in California fell from 3.8 to 3.7 cases out every 100 full-time employees. The rate held steady from 2013 through 2015, but has generally been in decline since 2002, when it reached its most recent peak of around 6 cases per every 100 full-time workers.
Maintenance and groundskeeping jobs held the highest rates of injury across all job sectors in California, followed closely by construction jobs.
Still, on-the-job injuries pose a very serious threat when they do occur. If you or someone you love recently defied these improving odds and suffered a work-related injury, an attorney can advise you of your rights and help you create a strong strategy to pursue fair compensation and appropriate medical care.
With professional guidance, workers in any job sector can recover in confidence, while an attorney works on his or her behalf to secure fair compensation for many kinds of losses, while working to make jobsites and workplaces even safer in the future.
Source: Sacramento Bee, “Worker injury, illness rate continues to decline in California,” Mark Glover, Nov. 16, 2017