Serious injuries may put an employee’s working future at risk. Younger employees have a lot of time before retirement, so an injury can affect those workers far into the future. The amount of time left in a young worker’s expected career means the stakes of addressing a work-related injury are extremely high.
Many workplace injuries occur in manual labor or “blue collar” jobs. Many of these jobs do not require a degree from either high school or college, but instead require the physical ability to perform the tasks involved. This means that when workers are no longer able to do these tasks physically due to an injury, they may have a very difficult time finding another job that they can qualify for, particularly if they seek to earn the same kind of money earned at the earlier job.
When younger employees are disabled due to an on-the-job injury, the stakes are very high. The average age of disabled-worker beneficiaries in 2014 was 53.7. This means that when younger workers are injured on the job, they may feel alone or a part of the minority. They may not have friends or colleagues that have been through this process before. It is likely that those workers would have been working these jobs for years to come if not for an injury. This means that their lost future income could be high due to the loss of a large number of working years. If the right steps are not taken to protect a worker who is injured a young age, his or her future losses can become overwhelming.
An additional concern arises from the fact that many younger workers who get injured are suffering from their first work related injury. Many younger employees have not been exposed to the workers’ compensation system in the past, which leaves them more confused and anxious than employees who have been through this process. They may not have knowledge of what it entails and what is possible.
Since younger workers are less prone to injury, most young employees tend to take the outlook that an injury will never happen to them. No one expects to be injured on the job, but for younger employees, the statistics make it seem even more improbable, causing increased surprise and confusion upon injury. By educating themselves on the workers’ compensation process, younger workers can feel more confident if they ever find themselves in a situation where they are injured on the job.
If you have been injured or have become ill on the job, contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney at The Harris Firm today. We want to help you get through this confusing and frustrating time and get the coverage and benefits you deserve.