Common Injuries for Agricultural Workers
Common Injuries for Agricultural Workers
If you are hurt on the job, you need a workers compensation lawyer serving San Jose to protect your rights. Agricultural workers are even more likely to be hurt and need a lawyer than workers in different industries. Due to enduring hazardous conditions, farm workers are at an especially high risk for serious workplace injuries. Read on to find out about three of the most common injuries for agricultural workers in California.
Musculoskeletal Injuries
Some of the most common injuries that affect agricultural workers include musculoskeletal injuries. A workers’ compensation lawyer regularly handles claims from crop and animal production workers suffering from musculoskeletal injuries. These personal injuries affect the body’s muscles, tendons, nerves, and ligaments. Farm workers often perform repetitive motions in awkward positions and lift, pull, push, and carry heavy items. As a result, they are more likely to suffer from tendonitis, tension neck syndrome, degenerative disc disease, ruptured discs, and other problems affecting the back, neck, and arms.
Hazardous Equipment Injuries
Injuries from dangerous equipment make up a second category of common farm workplace injuries. Farmworkers often use knives, hoes, power tools, and other sharp tools to do their jobs. Unfortunately, workplace injuries often occur due to an employer’s failure to properly maintain tools or provide their workers with the proper protective equipment. Many farm workers also suffer serious injuries sustained in falls from farm equipment, grain bins, ladders, haymows, or other farm buildings. Farm workers may also be killed or seriously hurt when tractors overturn.
Chemical Exposure Injuries
Agricultural workers are regularly exposed to dangerous and toxic chemicals. For example, pesticides pose risks of both short- and long-term workplace injuries for farmworkers and their families. Workers who mix, load, or apply pesticides may be injured due to spills, defective or missing protective equipment, or drift.
Workers exposed to grain or animal waste also face respiratory hazards from chemical toxins, microorganisms, and dust. Respiratory problems include wheezing and decreased pulmonary function.
