Teens at higher risk of on-the-job injury

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that teens are much more likely to be injured on the job than adults. Approximately 250,000 people under the age of 18 are injured at work every year in the U.S., and about 84,000 are treated at a hospital for their injuries. In 2003, the year of the latest available stats, 137 teenagers 17 or younger were killed. This is down from 202 deaths in 1998, but safety experts believe that this is still too much.

“Parents and educators are often surprised to see the numbers,” Dawn Castillo, field investigations chief for the National Institute for Occupational Safety, told the San Antonio Express-News. “I think they're a signal that more work needs to be done to improve the health and safety of teens in the workplace.”

There are several reasons for the higher rates. First is inexperience – as teens start their first jobs, they begin to find out how the workplace works including safety on the job. Without proper training, especially around heavy or dangerous equipment, this inexperience and lack of previous skill can contribute to higher rates of injury.

Also, employers know that younger or new employees are less likely to question the safety of a particular task, including whether or not the task is “safe” and what procedures should be followed to avoid injury.

And although there are many state and federal laws governing what types of work younger workers can perform, these laws are bent or broken everyday. For example, workers under the age of 17 are not allowed to drive a motor vehicle as part of their job duties, but that doesn’t stop teenagers from routinely being hired as pizza deliverers. In another example, a 12-year old boy in Iowa was killed while driving a farm tractor that overturned on a gravel road.

In fact most injuries come in the farming, fishing, and forestry industries where young children are used as labor, usually as part of a family business. Over 42% of all work-related youth fatalities occur in these industries, compared to 29% of operators, fabricators, and laborers, and just 12.4% for the service industry, including pizza drivers.

If you or a loved one has been injured on the job, regardless of age, you may be entitled to compensation from the employer. Inadequate training, unsafe work environments, and just plain negligence are the leading causes for on-the-job injury. Your employer is obligated to ensure that your workplace is as safe as possible, and is responsible if an injury occurs because of unsafe conditions.

Contact a personal injury lawyer at Jim S. Adler & Associates for a free case review. We have over three decades of protecting our clients’ rights throughout Texas. Our years of personal injury law experience will ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve as soon as possible. Don’t let medical bills and lost work add another burden to your family. Call us directly or click the link below to make sure your rights are protected.

Workplace Injury Lawyer | Texas leads the nation in on-the-job deaths | When a worker is killed on the job, can his/her family sue those responsible? | Construction site accidents have remedies | Accident on Phoenix worksite leads to amputation | Typical work zone accidents | Most severe workplace injuries are preventable | Amputations from workplace accidents take a toll | Typical work zone accidents | Unsafe worksites lead to electrical accidents | Amputations due to negligence affect victims physically, emotionally and financially | Workplace injury lawyers in Texas know the score | Electrical Injury On the Job