My job as a motorcycle mechanic has a lot of risks involved. I recently witnessed a colleague lose several fingers as they got caught in a chain. Before that, I was around when one of my co-workers lost a foot when a petrol tank exploded.
In both instances, the owner of our bike shop was quick to put the blame on my co-workers because by calling them negligent. But then these two mates are twenty year veterans of bike building. As far as I know, they were already designing and building custom motorcycles while I was still a spark in my parents’ eyes.
So to accuse the first guy of being responsible for his own injures was something that took everyone by surprise. But accusing the second guy of the same thing was an even bigger shock because everyone treated everyone else like family.
Being a close-knit shop, both these guys tried to work out a way for the owner to just pay for their medication. In the interest of friendship, they did not want to push for damages from the loss of fingers and a foot.
But as our shop owner stubbornly stood his ground, my mates had no choice but to file for an accident at work claim in order to get medical relief.
Knowing that their skills lay in bike building and not in law, each one hired a lawyer through a No Win No Fee arrangement. By not having to pay for anything, my mates were able to channel their salaries in to recovering from their injuries as the case took its course.
The cases they filed were eventually settled but the damage to their friendship, as well as to the company morale, was permanent. Prior to these two injuries, we trusted each other. Now, everybody kept looking over their shoulder.
While everyone was relieved that my two mates recovered from their physical injuries, everyone was saddened as the break to our emotional bonds never recovered.
We eventually left the company because things were not the same anymore. Hopefully the new companies we joined will be different and no one will need to file an accident at work claim in case of an injury.
Sunday 28 April 2013
Despite Advances in Technology, the Danger of an Accident at Work Still Exists
As far as I am concerned, I have always felt that there was something romantic about working in a mine.
My father worked in a gold mine, and his father worked in a coal mine before that. So it was no surprise that I ended up carrying on with the family business.
And while working in a mine generations ago was not only downright dangerous, it was backbreaking work. This is the reason why a lot of old songs about working in mines proliferated during this time; mining is one of those things that have turned in to a legend, just like working on the railroad was.
Today’s mines, while still dangerous, are not as physically demanding as the days of my grandfather. During his day, people would use shovels, pickaxes, and even hammers just to extract coal from deep within the earth.
In my father’s time, advances in chemistry had them working with toxic chemicals to make gold extraction much faster. And in addition to shovels and pickaxes, they carried around buckets of dangerous liquid with them.
Given the working conditions my father and grandfather went through, it is understandable why many of their miners succumbed to injuries due to an accident at work.
Looking back at what they had to go through, I am fortunate that technology has improved that heavy machinery has made life a lot easier for me. What my grandfather could do in a week with a pickaxe, I am now able to do in a day with my jackhammer. And what would take my father months to do with a shovel, I can do in hours with modern hydraulic diggers.
And while the productivity of my generation of miners has skyrocketed, the dangers we face are still the same. Cave-ins, noxious fumes, and even people being struck by vehicles still form part of the risks miners face today.
And just like my father and grandfather before me, the only way to avoid getting in to an accident at work is to keep you wits about you. Stay alert, never hesitate, and move fast when needed.
With this in mind, I hope to live just as long as they did, which is into their nineties and pass on what I have learned to the next generation of miners.
My father worked in a gold mine, and his father worked in a coal mine before that. So it was no surprise that I ended up carrying on with the family business.
And while working in a mine generations ago was not only downright dangerous, it was backbreaking work. This is the reason why a lot of old songs about working in mines proliferated during this time; mining is one of those things that have turned in to a legend, just like working on the railroad was.
Today’s mines, while still dangerous, are not as physically demanding as the days of my grandfather. During his day, people would use shovels, pickaxes, and even hammers just to extract coal from deep within the earth.
In my father’s time, advances in chemistry had them working with toxic chemicals to make gold extraction much faster. And in addition to shovels and pickaxes, they carried around buckets of dangerous liquid with them.
Given the working conditions my father and grandfather went through, it is understandable why many of their miners succumbed to injuries due to an accident at work.
Looking back at what they had to go through, I am fortunate that technology has improved that heavy machinery has made life a lot easier for me. What my grandfather could do in a week with a pickaxe, I am now able to do in a day with my jackhammer. And what would take my father months to do with a shovel, I can do in hours with modern hydraulic diggers.
And while the productivity of my generation of miners has skyrocketed, the dangers we face are still the same. Cave-ins, noxious fumes, and even people being struck by vehicles still form part of the risks miners face today.
And just like my father and grandfather before me, the only way to avoid getting in to an accident at work is to keep you wits about you. Stay alert, never hesitate, and move fast when needed.
With this in mind, I hope to live just as long as they did, which is into their nineties and pass on what I have learned to the next generation of miners.
The Compensation from a Work Accident Claim is the Only Thing I will Leave my Family when I am Gone
I have always considered myself a careful man. As far as my diet is concerned, I eat a balanced one by consuming as many vegetables with my meat during meals. I drink milk and take a two glasses of wine a week to keep stomach and heart in good shape. I also exercise three times a week to make sure my muscles are in tip top shape. I do not smoke nor do I take any prohibited substances. I also avoid even the smallest amount of fat by cutting it off before consuming my food.
I am equally careful at work and have never been in any accident. Needless to say, I never needed to file any work accident claim as I am as safe as they get.
So I was in shock when my doctor told me that I have lung cancer and that it is incurable. After the initial shock disappeared, I was so angry because I had taken care of myself all these years.
Had I known that I would end up dying this way, I would have done all the bad stuff my friends have been doing. I would have eaten more red meat, smoked like a chimney, and go binge drinking. I might have lived longer; and if I didn’t, would have had more fun in life.
Seeing that my lifestyle and genes did not indicate any lung cancer, my doctor delved in to my work history more closely. And at one point, he found that I had been exposed to high levels of lead, fibreglass, and asbestos. The exposure was traced to my summer jobs in construction during my younger days.
According to my doctor, the levels that I was exposed to were so toxic that I was fortunate to have lived this long. And while I understand he may be trying to get me to cheer me up, I just did not feel fortunate.
He then informed me that I had three years to file a work accident claim from the moment I learned of the injury. So even if my exposure was twenty years ago, I still had the opportunity to secure damages to pay for treatment.
I briefly considered whether I should still file a case as I doubt I would survive to see it ruled in my favour. But with a wife and grandchildren to leave behind, I see that they will, at least, benefit from my leaving them too soon.
I am equally careful at work and have never been in any accident. Needless to say, I never needed to file any work accident claim as I am as safe as they get.
So I was in shock when my doctor told me that I have lung cancer and that it is incurable. After the initial shock disappeared, I was so angry because I had taken care of myself all these years.
Had I known that I would end up dying this way, I would have done all the bad stuff my friends have been doing. I would have eaten more red meat, smoked like a chimney, and go binge drinking. I might have lived longer; and if I didn’t, would have had more fun in life.
Seeing that my lifestyle and genes did not indicate any lung cancer, my doctor delved in to my work history more closely. And at one point, he found that I had been exposed to high levels of lead, fibreglass, and asbestos. The exposure was traced to my summer jobs in construction during my younger days.
According to my doctor, the levels that I was exposed to were so toxic that I was fortunate to have lived this long. And while I understand he may be trying to get me to cheer me up, I just did not feel fortunate.
He then informed me that I had three years to file a work accident claim from the moment I learned of the injury. So even if my exposure was twenty years ago, I still had the opportunity to secure damages to pay for treatment.
I briefly considered whether I should still file a case as I doubt I would survive to see it ruled in my favour. But with a wife and grandchildren to leave behind, I see that they will, at least, benefit from my leaving them too soon.
Though Everything in Life has a Price, Getting Accident at Work Compensation is Free
Nothing in life is free; everything has a reward, price, or cost attached to it. On the positive side, work has its rewards. The most common monetary reward is being paid a monthly salary or a daily wage. Other rewards, this time not monetary in nature, are perks that companies provide. This may be getting a car and fuel allowance; getting a laptop and internet connection; or being allotted additional vacation days with pay.
On the neutral side, getting products like the electronic equipment or a car has a price. If one wants the latest equipment, a premium needs to be paid. But if one is happy to get last year’s model, the price will be much lower.
On the negative side, working in dangerous environments has a cost attached to it. While the reward may be higher salaries or wages, the cost can be in the form of severe injuries or even death. One example is if one is working on an oil platform in a war torn country. In this case, the pay may be higher, but the risk of injury is higher too.
However, there is a positive aspect to working in dangerous environments. Workers in dangerous places have the option to get accident at work compensation if they are injured due to the company’s negligence.
One example is if a person is involved in an explosion due to a terrorist attack, the victim may file for compensation if it can be proven that the company was negligent in providing security.
Poor security may be in the form of not beefing up the number of personnel trained and equipped to handle terrorist attacks. Or it may be in the form of not having vehicles, such as helicopters of fast sea craft, available so workers can be whisked away the moment an attack is underway.
Everything in life certainly has a price but getting Accident at accident at work compensation is totally free thanks to No Win No Fee arrangements. With this arrangement, people who are injured find that the cost of being injured will be rewarded with damages that will pay all their bills, including medical and legal ones.
On the neutral side, getting products like the electronic equipment or a car has a price. If one wants the latest equipment, a premium needs to be paid. But if one is happy to get last year’s model, the price will be much lower.
On the negative side, working in dangerous environments has a cost attached to it. While the reward may be higher salaries or wages, the cost can be in the form of severe injuries or even death. One example is if one is working on an oil platform in a war torn country. In this case, the pay may be higher, but the risk of injury is higher too.
However, there is a positive aspect to working in dangerous environments. Workers in dangerous places have the option to get accident at work compensation if they are injured due to the company’s negligence.
One example is if a person is involved in an explosion due to a terrorist attack, the victim may file for compensation if it can be proven that the company was negligent in providing security.
Poor security may be in the form of not beefing up the number of personnel trained and equipped to handle terrorist attacks. Or it may be in the form of not having vehicles, such as helicopters of fast sea craft, available so workers can be whisked away the moment an attack is underway.
Everything in life certainly has a price but getting Accident at accident at work compensation is totally free thanks to No Win No Fee arrangements. With this arrangement, people who are injured find that the cost of being injured will be rewarded with damages that will pay all their bills, including medical and legal ones.
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