Suffering from a fall can take a much bigger toll than anyone initially expects. Not only that, but a fall incident can happen at any job, even if it does not involve scaling, standing at heights, or frequent use of a ladder.
Exactly how do fall injuries impact a worker, though? How can a fall injury change a worker’s life?
How do fall injuries happen?
The CDC discusses occupational ladder falls, which make up a big chunk of fall-related incidents at work. These falls often end up associated with construction jobs or jobs that involve heavy and tall ladder uses, such as maintenance workers, house painters and more.
However, anyone who uses a ladder of any height – even a simple step stool – can potentially come under risk for a fall injury. This is due to the fact that a victim can experience damage from a fall at barely any distance from the ground. Even falling by tripping on the floor can do some hefty damage.
Fall injuries most often impact the neck and back. In such injuries, mobility ends up greatly affected. Victims sometimes cannot bend, turn or use their backs or necks without causing pain or exacerbating the injury.
Potential healing time
It often takes weeks or even months for the swelling and inflammation to decrease, too. This is a problem, because it means the worker cannot return to their usual forms of work until the swelling dies down. If they go back to work too early, they risk worsening the injury further.
Victims must then understand they risk losing money either way, through extensive time off of work. This is why it is so crucial for fall injury victims to receive financial support.