West Virginia Work Accidents
If you look at the 2013 Bureau of Labor Statistics report on fatal occupational injuries in West Virginia you see some startling facts. (BLS.gov, 2013) For one thing, there were scores of West Virginia work accidents that resulted in death, and in a single year there were 60 fatalities in the workplace. The causes ranged from violence to transportation and falls to contact with objects and equipment. This demonstrated one very clear thing – someone was at fault for the death and that the accidental nature of each incident shows the death to have been avoidable.
Are all West Virginia work accidents avoidable? The answer is yes, and this is because there are groups like OSHA that create workplace safety rules meant to eliminate most of the threats and risks. There is also a lot of industry regulation in all areas of the state, and yet accidents, injuries, and deaths occur. This tends to prove that someone has failed to uphold safety standards, and that a lethal or dangerous accident was probably avoidable.
And what about West Virginia work accidents that did not result in fatalities? Are they also avoidable? More often than not it is due to some sort of negligence or failure to uphold safety standards that ends with an accident and injury.
What This Means to the Injured
If you are someone who has been injured in one of the many different West Virginia work accidents, or you are the surviving dependent of someone killed in one, you must understand that you have options for compensation. This is not always all that clear because you will often find yourself up against a web or network of agencies, documents, and agreements that make it almost impossible to determine who was responsible for your safety, and who is now liable for your medical fees and other expenses.
This is often something done intentionally by companies hoping to avoid the large payouts they are often obliged to make when they fail to keep work sites safe. We need only look at the statistics to see that workplace accidents are often related directly to a lack of adequate safety standards, and so that indicates that someone in a work accident is probably not at fault.
This explains why it is of the utmost importance to speak with an attorney as soon as you have sustained an injury or as soon as possible afterward. They are going to get to work helping you to build your case and prevent an employer or other responsible party from evading your claims and preventing you from getting what is yours.
Understanding Worker’s Compensation
“Wait,” you might argue, “What about the worker’s compensation coverage businesses have to pay? Surely, that cannot be overridden?”
While that is a very logical view on a workplace accident, you need to realize that worker’s compensation is something determined by the Worker’s Compensation Board and they use information from your employer’s insurance company as part of their determination. This means you too have to build a case and prove that you were injured on the job, that you were not weakened by something beforehand (not relating to work) and even more.
This is all work and effort that you probably will not have the energy or knowledge to provide. An experienced attorney, such as those at Heavens Law, will know exactly how to approach West Virginia work accidents and get the best results possible. One of the most important things you can do, however, is to get in touch with them as soon as you can after any accident or injury. Time is often of the essence, and a good attorney can use the time optimally to help you win your case.
Source
- BLS.gov. Fatal occupational injuries in West Virginia. 2013. https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/tgs/2013/iiffw54.htm
