Workers in the Minnesota area might not realize it, but it is actually fairly likely that, on a given day, they will either get hurt at work themselves or may witness a significant workplace accident. According to an analysis by the National Safety Council, someone in this country gets hurt at work at an average rate of 7 seconds. The Council arrived at this number by dividing the approximately 4.5 million work-related injuries that happen annually.
Many of these accidents are more than just minor cuts or scrapes that can be treated at the scene. In fact, the Safety Council estimated that, as of 2016, workers were missing 104 million days of work annually due to various injuries. The most common types of injuries that kept people away from work included bad cuts and scrapes, generalized pain and sprains and the like.
The most common reasons people got hurt and had to miss work included falling or being struck in some way by a heavy object or a piece of equipment. However, the most common reason employees missed work was due to repetitive motion injuries or just straining while trying to lift items. These sorts of injuries accounted for over 1 in 3 of all injuries that landed a person off work for at least one day.
Fortunately, workers’ compensation benefits are available to Minnesota employees who wind up having to miss time from work due to an injury. These benefits can include coverage for medical bills and related expenses. Depending on the circumstances, including how long a person is off work, compensation for lost wages may be available as well.
