Not all workplace injuries and fatalities happen at the job site 

On Behalf of | Oct 19, 2020 | Workers' Compensation

When talking about worker safety, the focus is usually on the job site. For instance, with falls being a major cause of injury, people will focus on the use of ropes and harnesses on scaffolding, on the importance of choosing the right ladder and on the risks that workers face in different industries when they have to work at heights. 

All of this is important, but it’s also wise to remember that many injuries and fatalities do not happen on a specific job site. They happen on the road. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nothing takes more lives on the job than car accidents.

The risk to some workers is clear. A commercial vehicle driver, for instance, spends nearly all of his or her day in traffic. The risk of a crash is much higher, in that sense, than it is for someone who just commutes to an office building and then drives home at night. 

But the CDC is quick to point out that even those who don’t specifically drive for a living face major risks. A road construction worker could be struck by another vehicle on the site, for example, even though they just do general manual labor and never drive those vehicles themselves. A house painter could get involved in a standard traffic accident while taking the company truck to drive and pick up more paint or supplies. An online seller could get injured or killed in an accident while transporting their products to the local shipping center or post office. The examples are endless. 

What is important to remember is that any time someone enters traffic, they put themselves at risk. This can’t be avoided; the road will always be a dangerous place, even for safe drivers. Those who get injured while driving for work need to know what legal options they have

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