Wauwatosa Workers' Compensation Law Blog

Depending on where you work in Wisconsin and what your job entails, you may have to handle toxic chemicals and/or materials on a daily basis. While it is bad enough for you to face toxic exposure, it is even worse to think that your family might face it, too. As reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, take-home toxic exposure remains a major problem in the United States.

Take-home toxic exposure happens when the toxins you come into contact with at work attach themselves to your clothing, shoes, etc. They then go home with you where they can build up on various surfaces, such as your floors, furniture, bedding, air ducts and virtually any other surfaces. Thus your family members become exposed to them, too.

Even when your job involves inherent risk, as it does if you are a construction worker, your employer in Wisconsin has a responsibility to provide a safe working environment. Nevertheless, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, every year more than 800 construction workers die, and many more receive injuries, due to work-related accidents, many of which are preventable.

Trenching is one of the most dangerous types of jobs in construction work. You may not think of soil as being heavy, but one cubic yard of it can weigh nearly 3,000 pounds, almost as much as a car. Another hazard of trench collapses is that becoming buried under the soil can cut off your air supply and cause you to suffocate. Bearing these facts in mind, it is no wonder that serious injury or death can occur from a trench cave-in within a matter of minutes. 

If you work in Wisconsin, you may be aware that a workers' compensation program exists and that this program is designed to help people if they are hurt while at work. The benefits available under workers' compensation may include financial compensation for time lost from work as well as medical treatment for any injuries. An employee has very specific rights granted by the workers' compensation program and every worker should know these.

As explained by the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, when it comes to medical care, an employee has the right to choose their health care provider. This choice is allowed for a first or second choice if the provider is within the state of Wisconsin. The employee may also choose an out-of-state provider without prior approval from the insurer if they are referred to that provider by another provider, if the need for care is an emergency or if the out-of-state physician is part of the same practice as the in-state physician.

There are a few things that people in Wisconsin should be able to count on when they take a new job. One of these is that they will be paid for the time they work and a second is that they should be able to work in an environment free of discrimination or harassment. All workers should also be able to trust that they will be appropriately compensated if they are injured or become ill on the job. This is what the system of workers' compensation is all about.

According to The Capital Times, Wisconsin once led the way in protecting injured employees' rights. In 1911, the State Supreme Court upheld the workers' compensation program. Today, however, it seems that such leadership is all but forgotten and in its place is a program that favors employers and insurance companies.