Winter is around the corner, bringing cold weather that creates unique risks for workplace injuries. Slip and fall injuries in particular increase during winter months, along with the risk of other injuries due to material and connection hardening, cold hands and feet, and use of winter clothing.
People who experience workplace injuries during winter are entitled to worker’s compensation benefits. If you were seriously injured in a workplace accident that resulted in significant lost time from work, permanent disability, or permanent wage loss, Kingree Law Firm can help. Our team of worker’s compensation lawyers are committed to protecting the rights of injured workers. We have earned a reputation of success by providing superior legal representation that gets results. Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your situation and how we can help.
Wisconsin’s winter weather creates hazardous conditions that increase the risk of injuries. Please see the following examples of common winter workplace injuries.
Slip and fall injuries are among the most common workplace accidents, especially during winter. If you slip and fall in your employer’s parking lot after arriving for work or while leaving from work, you are entitled to worker’s compensation benefits even though you are not on the clock. If you are a traveling employee such as a truck driver or any other occupation in which you are required to travel by your employer, you are entitled to worker’s compensation benefits the entire time you are traveling - including a slip and fall at a customer’s location, a hotel parking lot, a conference center, or while walking to lunch - unless you were engaged in a substantial personal deviation from the work-related purpose of the travel. Slip and fall injuries on job sites or in your employer’s premises are also covered.
Materials such as metal and wood harden or contract during cold weather, which can lead to work injuries when working with them. Connections such as hitches, fasteners, and anything involving lubricants also become more difficult to deal with in cold weather. If you exert more force than normal while working with these materials and connections, or hurt yourself while moving a stuck piece of equipment or material, you are entitled to worker’s compensation benefits.
Frostbite can be a worker’s compensation injury if work activities caused overexposure. Non-frostbitten cold hands and feet on their own are not worker’s compensation injuries, but they can lead to clumsy material handling or improper movements while working. This increases the risk of work injuries, for example dropping a heavy piece of material, losing grip and transferring force to a body joint or your spine, or hitting a body part with a tool you are using. With rare exceptions, negligence and fault on your part do not matter in worker’s compensation. If you dropped a heavy object onto yourself, clumsily performed job duties, hit a body part with a tool you are using, or otherwise didn’t perform the job task the way you intended - whether due to cold hands and feet or even during warm weather - you are still entitled to worker’s compensation benefits.
Using gloves carries many of the risks discussed above in the “Cold Hands and Feet” section, and the same principles discussed in that section apply. In addition, bulky winter clothing can bring increased risk of snagging or entanglement in equipment or machinery. If your job duties required use of winter clothing and the winter clothing played a part in the work injury, you are entitled to worker’s compensation benefits the same as you would be if you were injured in that manner in warmer months while not wearing winter clothing.
Wisconsin work injuries are our sole area of practice. If you suffered a workplace injury that resulted in significant lost time from work, permanent disability, permanent wage loss, or a spine surgery or joint replacement, Kingree Law Firm can help. We are well-known throughout Wisconsin for our knowledge, skill, and quality case preparation that leads to superior results. To put our expertise to work for you, contact Kingree Law Firm today to schedule an appointment to discuss your situation.
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