Question By: When temperatures rise, the risk of injuries and incidents on the job escalates “significantly,”. It's not surprising that hot weather would lead to injuries and illness among workers in predominantly outdoor industries. Climate change will pose significant health risks to workers in many ways, through increased heat exposure and non-heat related impacts, such as extreme weather events, shifts in disease vectors, etc.
Workers dealing with extreme heat may suffer several different heat illnesses, including:
- Heat Stroke- The most serious conditions, heat stroke occurs when the body can no longer control its temperature.
- Heat Exhaustion- Occurs when the body's reaction to a lack of water and salt, typically brought on by excessive sweating.
- Heat Rash- Heat rash is caused by excessive sweating and can affect many areas of the body, including the upper chest, neck, groin, under the breasts, and elbow creases.
Motor Vehicle Injury Claims
High Ambient Temperatures and Risk of Motor Vehicle Crashes
Motor vehicle crashes are an important cause of mortality and disability worldwide. High temperatures are known to decrease human capability of performing physical and intellectual tasks, which in turn can increase the risk of traffic crashes. Most of the existing epidemiological studies have examined the relationship between temperature and crashes using temporal aggregation.
As a general rule, you can get workers' compensation for most work related injuries. To be considered a work related injury, the injury must be caused or aggravated by the work duties or the condition of the workplace. To get workers' compensation for heat related illnesses on-the-job, one has to prove that having to work outside in the heat caused the injury.
In summary, Employers have a duty to protect their workers from excessive heat. Employers are charged with establishing a heat illness prevention program that provides workers with water, rest and shade.
Accident victims may be entitled to substantial personal injury compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced, contact the Martin Law Office, S.C.
For more information, visit https://www.martin-law-office.com/2022/06/13/do-personal-injury-claims-increase-in-warmer-weather/.
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