Government employees more likely to be hurt on the job

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published a study showing how the occurrence of injuries differed between government and private sector employees. According to their findings, more than 3 million private sector employees suffered work-related illnesses and injuries in 2013 (or about 3.3 percent of all private sector employees), whereas only 746,000 public employees filed were hurt on the job last year.

Of the 3 million private sector cases reported, about 75 percent occurred in service industry-related jobs. Over half the cases in the private sector were serious claims that required employees to take time off from work. Manufacturing, retail and utility sectors continue to see an annual decrease in the number of reported employee injuries.

State and federal employees, however, reported injuries or illnesses at a rate of 5.2 percent. While this number is in decline from previous years, it is still significantly higher than the other figures reported.

Employees in Arizona, regardless of where they work, could potentially add to these statistics. Employees involved in a workplace accident may be entitled to benefits, so they need to know their rights. Employers may not take care of filing employee claims for them, so employees need to make sure they protect their own interests.

If you get injured on the job, you may want to contact a knowledgeable workers’ compensation attorney. These attorneys will fight for their clients’ rights and make sure they do everything they can to recover the compensation victims need while they are unable to work. Your workers’ compensation attorney will take care of the legal aspect of your claim so you can concentrate on what’s important: getting healthy again.

Source: The Hill, “Study: Public workers suffer more injuries”, Tim Devaney, Dec. 4, 2014

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