The modern workforce is changing, and according to research data, a constantly increasing percentage of employees are at least 55 years old. Although employers in fields like construction say that they like these having these workers on their payrolls because they’re less prone to injury and more experienced, older employees who do get hurt take longer to heal than younger workers might. They’re also at heightened risk for specific kinds of workplace accidents.
Research from sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that employees who are 65 or older are the most prone to sustaining slip and fall injuries that claim their lives. Workers between the ages of 45 and 54 are more likely than any other professional group to have musculoskeletal disorders. Many older workers don’t want to shift to jobs that are less physically intense because they need the income and benefits that riskier tasks afford them.
In 2010, BMW was praised for accommodating its elderly workers by instituting ergonomic changes designed to improve safety. The company also performed in-depth analyses of work conditions, obtained feedback about potential problems and limited the amount of time that workers could spend doing the most physically difficult jobs before switching to less-harrowing tasks.
There are many ways for modern companies to create working environments that promote health and safety. Still, some employers fail to maintain appropriately safe conditions or respond to complaints about deficiencies in a timely fashion. In the process, these firms place their employees at risk of sustaining serious injuries that might force them to pay large medical bills and lose wages while they take time off and recover. Consulting an attorney about the circumstances surrounding an injury incident might make it easier to file a successful workplace injury claim.