Many people may not realize it, but postal workers encounter a variety of dangers during their day-to-day responsibilities. They perform many kinds of duties, including lifting heavy packages, walking and driving in various weather conditions, and encountering animals along their routes. For postal workers, injuries on the job are common.
Postal workers who are injured on the job should reach out to an experienced Workers’ Compensation lawyer for assistance.
Some of the most common injuries that postal workers can sustain during the course of their workday are as follows:
Slip and fall accidents. Mail carriers are required to go right up to the house in most areas, and they may encounter steps or sidewalks that are in disrepair. They may have to traverse tall grasses with hidden obstacles or dangers in the grass. All of these circumstances can create a situation in which the worker slips and falls and sustains many types of injuries.
Repetitive movement injuries. Often postal workers will perform the same type of movement over and over again. If they are on a mostly driving route, the carrier may drive, stop, and put the mail in the box hundreds of times in a day. Other postal workers may work at sorting the mail, and this can also cause the worker to perform repetitive movement with sorting out heavy or bulky packages all day. This can cause injuries to the arms, elbows, or shoulders.
Auto accidents. This injury may be overlooked by many, but since many postal workers are on the road for most of their shift, they are prone to experiencing an auto accident while on the job. Postal trucks make frequent stops, and often the driver may be driving from the right side of the vehicle, which is not customary for other drivers to see. These two anomalies that are specific to postal workers may put them at a greater risk for accidents while on the job, and therefore any injury that is a result of the accident.
Overexertion or aggravation of past injuries. Since postal workers perform different duties depending on the packages they are sorting or carrying, this could cause them to move in an unexpected way and then either overexert themselves or aggravate a past injury that they thought had healed.
Dog bites. It is quite common for postal workers to encounter a dog that could be unexpectedly aggressive. When postal workers are walking through a neighborhood, they may encounter any number of dogs in one day, and often at least one of them could decide that the postal worker has come too close to the home or the dog owner. In that case, the dog could bite and cause serious injury.
Chester County Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Wusinich, Sweeney & Ryan, LLC can Assist if You Have Been Hurt While Working
Employee injuries can occur while on the job in many different capacities. Although postal workers may be at higher risk because they are out and about and delivering packages, other workers can be at risk for injury as well. If you suffered an injury while at work, you could be eligible for Workers’ Compensation or other damages. The Chester County Workers’ Compensation lawyers at Wusinich, Sweeney & Ryan, LLC can evaluate your case under the current laws. In some cases, employees could be eligible for damages under a few different laws if it is determined that the employer was negligent in some way. Contact us online or call us at 610-594-1600 for a free consultation today. We are located in Exton, Pennsylvania, and we serve residents of Downingtown, West Chester, Exton, Coatesville, Phoenixville, Malvern, Lyndell, Wagontown, Uwchlan Township, Parkesburg, Chester Springs, Lancaster County, Reading, and Morgantown.