California employers are required to have a written workplace safety program in place called an Injury and Illness Prevention Program. As the California Department of Industrial Relations explains, the only employers who are exempt from this IIPP requirement are those with fewer than 10 employees or, if they are not designated as a high-hazard industry, fewer than 20 employees.
Traumatic brain injuries in the construction industry
California construction workers are at substantial risk for receiving a traumatic brain injury while at work. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the highest number of workplace TBIs, both fatal and nonfatal, occur in the construction industry. Between 2003-2010, over 2,200 construction workers died from TBIs, representing more than 25 percent of all construction fatalities.
Highlighting the construction industry's "Fatal Four"
The exponential growth seen in Van Nuys and throughout the rest of California in recent years is due in large part to the efforts of those working in the construction industry. While such professionals no doubt enjoy their work, they also likely understand that theirs is recognized as being one of America's most dangerous industries. The conditions in which they work coupled with the tools and equipment used when plying their trade can make their jobs extremely dangerous. Indeed, information shared by the Industrial Safety and Hygiene News shows that as many as one in ten construction workers are injured every year.
Ways your workplace may be damaging your health
Employees in California know that a good environment is a key element of happiness in the workplace. Unfortunately, even the best of environments can suffer from the engagement in practices or behaviors that can cause harm to its workers.
Amputation from workplace accident puts life on hold
There are three kinds of people on the job site. One kind of worker thinks an accident will never happen to them and others know it's just a matter of time. No matter which kind of those two workers you were before, you are now in the third category: injured. A moment of inattention, a piece of faulty equipment or a safety procedure ignored has now cost you a limb.
Medical professionals have highest rate of workplace injuries
You may laugh when you watch medical dramas on TV. The nurses, assistants and aids in immaculate scrubs and perfect hair may spend an entire episode sitting at the bedside of a single patient or wandering around the halls with a cup of coffee and a heartbroken co-worker. You know this is rarely the case, especially in a hospital setting, and you likely have the blisters and bruises to prove it.
