Preventing Work-Related Eye Injuries

Work-related eye injuries can be temporary, or they can be devastating. Thankfully, most work-related eye injuries can be prevented. In Minnesota, if you sustain a work-related eye injury, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, including medical expenses, wage loss benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, and rehabilitation benefits.

There are more than 800,000 work-related eye injuries every year. Some of these injuries are temporary, and some result in permanent loss of vision. Most eye injuries occur in production jobs, transportation jobs, material handling jobs, service industry jobs, and construction jobs. Men are more likely to sustain eye injuries on the job than women. Workers between age 25 and 34 are the most likely to sustain work-related eye injuries.

Eye injuries are most often caused by:

• Flying particles
• Chemical splashes, vapors, or dust
• Being stuck by or bumping into an object
• Sparks or molten metal and other hot liquid splashes
• Light radiation from welding

According to OSHA, 90 percent of all workplace eye injuries can be prevented by wearing eye protection. Most injuries occur because an employee is not wearing eye protection at the time of the accident. In fact, some estimate that as many as three in five injured workers were not wearing eye protection at the time of the accident. In other instances, workers were wearing eye protection, but the eyewear they were wearing didn’t adequately protect against the specific hazard involved.

Workers can help avoid eye injuries by:

• Obey workplace warning signs
• Always put on protective eyewear before entering an area where hazards may be present
• Use safety eyewear that provides maximum protection
• Make sure your eyewear fits properly and comfortably
• Inspect protective eyewear regularly and replace if there are defects
• Know where eyewash stations are located and how to use them
• Know basic first aid for eye injuries
• Store your protective eyewear where it won’t get scratched or damaged, and keep it clean
• Report potential eye hazards to a supervisor immediately

Eye injuries can be frightening and devastating. If you’ve sustained a work-related eye injury in Minnesota, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. For a free, no-obligation with a Minnesota workers’ compensation attorney, call us at 877-746-5680, or click here to send us an email.

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