America’s 10 Most Dangerous Occupations and How Work-Related Fatalities are Treated by the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation System
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics December 16, 2016, Economic News Release, there were a total of 4,836 recorded work injuries that resulted in death in 2015, which amounted to an overall rate of fatalities of 3.38 per 100,000 full-time workers. While there are multiple contributing factors, like workers’ age, training and experience, based on the government statistics, your chances of getting killed on the job are much higher if you work in the following occupations: 1. Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations – 25.3 (deaths per 100,000 workers) 2. Supervisors of construction and extraction workers – 16.1 3.... Read More
Your Workers’ Compensation Questions Answered
What happens when my doctor takes me off work or puts me on restrictions because of my work injury? The answer depends on your line of work and how bad your work injury is. When you get hurt, your doctor may decide that you should take some time off work or limit your work activities. For example, if you pull a muscle in your back or injure your shoulder, and your job requires you to do heavy lifting or use your arms a lot, your doctor will write a Report of Workability that will either order you to stay off... Read More
How Workers’ Compensation Claims Start
After injury or sickness has occurred on the job, it is the employee’s responsibility to start the workers’ compensation process and the first step is reporting the event or incident to the employer. Reporting the injury to your employer is an important part of the process. It is called “giving a notice” to the employer. There are many ways to notify the employer about the injury. It could be as simple as telling the supervisor or manager about what happened, or giving a doctor’s note to the superiors or human resources, or any other way that conveys the message that... Read More
Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council Legislative Proposal
During its meeting on February 15, 2017, the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council (WCAC) discussed a legislative proposal to add post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the list of the presumptive occupational diseases covered under the workers’ compensation statute. The proposal comes from Senators Nick Frentz and Dan Schoen. Citing some statistics that show suicide rates for police officers and firefighters are more than double that of other occupations, as well as other environmental factors, such as a routine absence of choice of what dangers the police officers and firefighters are exposed to, the proposal would make PTSD a presumptive work-related... Read More