With winter weather right around the corner, slip and fall injuries in Central Pennsylvania become all too frequent. Employees need to be cognizant of winter weather. Often, when snow and ice are on the ground, it inevitably leads to slip and fall injuries at work.
Central Pennsylvania is home to a healthy array of warehouses, manufacturing, and trucking facilities. Often, we see work injuries as a result of snow and ice at these type of employers. These normally are the result of slips and falls getting out of trucks, standing on the back of trucks or edges of landing docks, or walking building to building on snow and ice. Slip and fall injuries in Central Pennsylvania are common from November through March.
Unfortunately, we see significant back, knee, shoulder and neck conditions as a result of these work injuries. You can read more about common slip and fall injuries here at OSS. Whether they result from direct impact, such as falling right on a knee or onto the low back, or by bracing injuries, such as sticking your arm out to break a fall, these types of slip and falls can lead to painful, debilitating injuries.
It is vital that should a slip and fall injury happen to you, that you follow two very important steps to protect your rights. Often times, these type of injuries are not witnessed by any other employee. That means your employer may or may not be skeptical. It happens.
The two most important steps you should take immediately upon a slip and fall is to provide immediate notice to a supervisor and to seeks medical attention right away. These steps seem obvious, but they are not always followed by injured employees, which can, and frequently do, then lead to denials of work injuries. This is not a guarantee that your claim will be accepted. Employers and their insurance carriers are quick yo find any potential reason to deny a claim, such as, an unwitnessed event. However, taking the right steps helps me prove and defend your claim and protect your right under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act.
The best way to avoid these type of slip and falls on snow and ice is to take it slow, wear appropriate footwear, and hold on to railings, walls, and other items to help void a potential slip or fall.
The final important step to take should you slip and fall on ice while at work is contact me right away. You can do that by accessing the contact information to the right. Insurance companies in Pennsylvania are always represented by legal counsel. Those insurance attorneys are frequently looking over files and making recommendations to limit employer liability. You should have and deserve experienced legal counsel on your side as well. Call me today for a FREE consultation.
