Can Fatigue Increase Your Risk of Suffering a Workplace Injury?

Posted in Workplace | November 4, 2022

Are you getting enough sleep at night? Chances are, you are not. This means you are going to work each day feeling fatigued and tired. Daytime fatigue can lead to serious consequences in the workplace and your personal life. Such consequences include workplace injuries that can be serious. If you do happen to be injured in the workplace, our Slip and Fall Lawyer near Centereach, NY can help. 

What is Fatigue?

Fatigue includes feelings of drowsiness, tiredness, and a lack of energy. In the workplace, fatigue is the mental or physical exhaustion that impacts your ability to do work safely and effectively. This can be caused by lack of sleep, long shifts, and too much physical exertion. With fatigue comes issues with balance, coordination, motor skills, and cognitive function. In the workplace, workers who are most at risk of feeling fatigued are those who work evening and night shifts. This includes pilots, truck drivers, military personnel, medical staff, and many more. Other workers who are at risk of fatigue are those who carry out physically draining and exhausting tasks. This includes assembly line workers or baggage screeners who are constantly experiencing high workload fatigue. 

Increased Likelihood of Injuries 

Fatigue associated with lack of sleep, long shifts, or too much physical exertion, increases the chances of being injured in the workplace. With a lack of awareness and slower reaction times from being fatigued, the risk of injury increases specifically when:

• Driving a road vehicle
• Working at heights 
• Working with explosives or flammable substances
• Doing hazardous work such as electrical work 
• Working in a medical or surgical field

How You Can Stay Alert During the Night Shift

If you can stay alert for the night shift, your chances of injury in the workplace will be reduced. To stay alert during the night shift it is beneficial to drink caffeinated beverages and take short nap breaks throughout the shift. Or, on the contrary, it may be better for you to remain active during your breaks by going on walks or exercising. Lastly, do not leave the most tedious tasks to the end of the shift. By following these tips stated above, you will not feel as fatigued and as a result, the chances of injury while working will be reduced. 

How a Lawyer Can Help if You Have Been Injured

If you have suffered an injury in the workplace due to fatigue, a Slip and Fall Lawyer near Centereach, NY will be able to help. Workplace injuries can be very serious, leaving you unable to work. In many cases, your workplace injury can be covered by the workers’ compensation system. Under this system, you can receive medical treatment and other benefits. A Slip and Fall Lawyer near Centereach, NY can help evaluate your case and help you pursue a claim to make sure that you are properly compensated. We assist injured workers who have been injured in many different ways, including:

• Ladder falls
• Being struck by an object
• Equipment injuries
• Slips and falls
• Construction accidents

Contact Our Slip and Fall Lawyer near Centereach, NY

If you have been injured in the workplace for any reason including fatigue, Winkler Kurtz, LLP can help. Our Slip and Fall Lawyer near Centereach, NY can help you receive the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Our team understands that personal injury cases can be challenging for clients. We are dedicated to helping you every step of the way and will help move forward with your case.