On-the-job injuries are all too common across the United States – especially in southern California. The second most populous metro area in the entire country, the SoCal region has constantly maintained high economic activity. Yet more production means a higher risk of injury while on the job. Interestingly enough, new research finds that with rising temperatures comes more injuries – oftentimes overlooked and undercounted in official local and state records.
The muddied waters of work injuries and their relationship with heat may call a need for a Los Angeles on-the-job injury attorney. The Law Offices of Kropach and Kropach want you and your loved ones to understand the risks you face as a worker while offering expert legal representation in the case that you experience an injury while working your nine-to-five.
Heat has always been a part of daily life across California. It’s not unusual for the southern half of the state to see temperatures rise into the 90s and even the 100s. According to reports by the Los Angeles Times, rising temperatures each year have shown more workers to experience an injury while on the job than ever before.
The findings of researchers at the University of Stanford and the University of California — Los Angeles have shown that on days where the temperature climbed into the 100s that workplace injuries rose about 15% on average. Of course, many of the effects happen to workers in outdoor positions, but those who are often overlooked are those in the manufacturing and warehousing sectors. Much of this leads not only to heat exhaustion but disorientation resulting in a lesser ability to properly operate vehicles and machinery.
The research – which is soon to be published by the Institute of Labor Economics – found that the rise in temperature has caused about 20,000 more workplace injuries per year. This devastating figure is adorned with a price tag of $1 billion to not only employers and the state but to workers themselves.
The state of California reportedly enacted a regulation pertaining to heat illness prevention in 2005 that soothed the issue but not to great lengths.
Despite their efforts, the regulation is seldom enforced by the state – minimizing its potential impact on the wellbeing of workers across California. The Golden State also has proved to have faults when it comes to data collection as it often fails to classify heat-related injuries as such. In conjunction, many claim that the act alone does not go far enough as climate scientists predict an even higher rise in temperatures across the coming decades. Some are calling into question the degree to which employers should be responsible for the health of their workers as well.
Unfortunately, there is no foreseen end to the rise in temperatures. More and more Californians report that their communities feel hotter and hotter every day. The shockingly high temperatures mean that the risk that you and your loved ones face going to work every day may constitute the need for a Los Angeles on the job injury attorney from the Law Offices of Kropach and Kropach. At Kropach and Kropach, we believe that you are entitled to the workers compensation that you deserve. Our firm has over 40 years of experience in the courtroom and raving reviews from many satisfied clients who have successfully secured the compensation they were entitled to under California law. If you would like to reach out to one of our lawyers, please call 818-609-7005 or click here.
