Limited OSHA shortfalls can mean more workers' comp claims

New York residents may have heard that a new report puts healthcare workers at the top of an unfortunate list: industries with the most illnesses and injuries on the job. Workers' compensation claims may jump when OSHA lacks the resources to educate workers and management about safety in the workplace, according to the report. Second on the list was the manufacturing industry, where back injuries and brain injuries can occur with greater frequency than in almost any other sector of the economy.

Some analysts say that the report, which shows healthcare workers in 2010 suffering from 654,000 workplace incidents compared to 502,000 for manufacturing, shows that they are not getting the attention they need from OSHA. Critics support this claim by noting that healthcare workers get only a fraction of the number of inspections at their workplaces that construction workers do, even though there are twice as many healthcare workers than construction workers in the US.

The report points out that OSHA has limited resources and was budgeted in 2013 just $535 million to monitor 7 million work sites. The manufacturing sector also receives more workplace inspections than does the healthcare sector although OSHA explains this by considering how much more severe manufacturing job injuries are when compared to health workers' injuries. Labor Department officials have promised to look into the shortfalls in OSHA monitoring in the healthcare industry.

An attorney experienced in workers' compensation claims may be able to help with litigation resulting from injuries on the job, lost wages, unsafe working conditions, crush injuries, repetitive stress injuries and more. Such an attorney may be able to arrange compensation for pain and suffering, OSHA violations resulting in death and other damages sought after an injury or illness occurs on the job.