Being a firefighter, logger, or crab fisherman might come to mind when someone thinks about dangerous jobs. However, professionals who engage in the building—including painters who join in after much of the building is finished—are probably the most vulnerable every single day.
Painters have the right to workers’ compensation in the event of a significant mishap, just like other employees do. However, in some instances, filing a lawsuit to get additional benefits may also be appropriate. To hire a personal injury lawyer, click here.
How Risky Is The Job Of A Painter?
Along with these specific dangers, painters face a lot of the same dangers as other construction workers. These risks consist of:
- Falls: More than many other jobs, painters have to deal with equipment, supplies, and construction materials that are on the ground, which poses a risk of tripping. In order to paint each surface and ceiling, it is generally necessary to work from ladders, scaffolding, and other high locations. This increases the risk of a height fall, which can result in deaths or other severe injuries.
- Toxic exposure: A lot of the chemicals applied by painters, such as thinners, paints, and brush cleaners, may be dangerous to breathe in. After decades of labor, painters can develop long-term illnesses as a result of chemical exposure.
- Eye injuries: Painters’ eyes are considerably at risk from these same chemicals. Even a tiny touch can result in blindness, either temporary or permanent.
- Repetitive stress: Throughout the day, painters move around in the same ways, such as reaching to paint regions and lifting heavy objects up and down. Over time, overuse injuries can occur from these repeated actions. Specifically, while a painter paints, they often strain their rotator cuffs and the muscles in their neck and shoulder. While just one fall might result in injuries that need surgery, long-term usage may result in tiny tears that heal over many weeks.
How Does Workers’ Compensation Work?
A painter can file a workers’ compensation claim if he has suffered a significant accident while on his job. Many painters carry workers’ compensation insurance because companies are bound, with certain limitations, to offer it to their employees. It is recommended that painters choose an organization to work for that provides this protection because painters who work as independent contractors or as freelancers might not have it.
Painters have the right to appeal a workers’ compensation claim denial. Determining the validity of a claim is often a lengthy process requiring plenty of paperwork and expert testimony.
