You’ve likely heard that distracted driving leads to car accidents quite frequently, and that’s true. But don’t assume that it’s just in the realm of motor vehicle travel. Distraction on the job can also lead to accidents and mistakes, and these could cause serious injuries.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that the person who is distracted will be the one who gets hurt. For instance, you could be working near a co-worker who’s using a power tool, and their distraction could cause them to harm you with that tool. It’s unintentional, but the fault is still with them and the fact that they were distracted on the job.
How common are workplace distractions?
How often this happens depends on a lot of different factors, such as the type of work being performed and even the temperament and personality of the employees. But it’s safe to say that it’s very common in most industries.
In fact, when office workers were asked how often they were distracted, the low estimate was that 70% of them experienced distraction on the job. The average person reported 56 different disruptions every single day.
And that’s just in an office, where things are fairly ordered and controlled. You can imagine how many more distractions there are going to be on a chaotic construction site or in a fast-paced kitchen environment. While a distraction in an office could lead to injury, it’s much more common in one of these settings, and the injuries can be quite serious.
If you’ve been injured on the job, no matter how it happened, it’s important for you to understand how you can seek financial compensation for the costs related to that injury.