Modesto Worker Compensation Law Blog

It is hard to imagine that working as a plumber could result in an individual's death, but the reality is that any job can result in a fatality. When a death occurs on a job site, a workers' compensation program in the state of California may be a benefit to a deceased worker's family. Unfortunately, during a period of grief, a family may not want to handle the hassle of the complicated program, but there are attorneys who have the knowledge to assist with claims. Sadly, a family is grieving the loss of a city plumber after an unusual accident resulted in her death.

The 34-year-old city employee was completing work on a street when an accident occurred, resulting in her death. As she and her co-workers completed their work, a private tow truck operator began loading a vehicle onto the flatbed of his truck. At some point in the process, the vehicle became unhooked.

Federal and California mandates require companies to report injuries sustained at work. Injuries that are required to be reported are typically ones that require a worker to miss work for any amount of time, but ones that require simple first aid are not mandated to be reported. Recently, Tesla has been reported and investigated for underreporting multiple workplace injuries of its employees.

Tesla has been reported as having left off at least 13 mandated work injuries in 2017. Many of the injuries were added to their report following an investigation of another unreported injury of a worker. The company, like all others, is mandated to report certain injuries within seven days of their occurrence. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, underreporting is common and can prevent best practices to prevent future injuries.

It is not surprising that a vehicle requires a large production facility and assembly line considering the size of most vehicles that travel the roadways. With large equipment and extensive production, precautions must be taken at all times to ensure safety of all in a plant. Recently, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health opened up two investigations at Tesla involving workplace injuries.

The first investigation was announced due to rumors involving Tesla's reporting of injuries that occurred in the production plant. Allegedly, in order to keep a good safety record, injuries were being mislabeled or not reported at all. Tesla has denied the accusation and the investigation is pending.

In order to help employers in California and others across the United States understand common on-the-job injuries, the Bureau of Labor Statistics examined data across the country of injuries suffered by full-time workers. Although most workplace injuries that make the news are often ones that result in serious injuries or tragic deaths of workers, most injuries are less severe but still can have an impact on work load and usually require the use of workers' compensation insurance benefits. The data revealed that most injuries occur in the course of everyday events such as overexertion, falls, slips and trips.

Although most injuries are less significant than many that make the news, the average number of missed days of work is nine. Not only will missed work affect productivity in the workplace, but some employees may experience a loss of income due to a work injury. Any workplace injury can be costly to both an employer and employee.