Working in a warehouse or in the construction industry exposes you to different hazards that could injure you. With the right safety measures, you stand a good chance of avoiding any serious injuries. It is important to know how to protect different areas of your body from injury, such as your eyes.
Safety and Health Magazine explains that 2,000 workers a day experience an eye injury that requires medical treatment. Given the importance of protecting your sight, it is startling that so many workers experience eye injuries, but there are reasons why it happens.
Factors that contribute to an eye injury
The American Optometric Association explains two primary causes of worker eye injuries. First, workers do not wear the correct eye protection. Secondly, some injured workers do wear some kind of eye protection but it is not the right gear for the job they are performing.
In some cases, workers wear eye gear that does not fit them properly. This allows debris to penetrate and injure their eyes. Workers may also wear eye protection with gaps in protection. For example, some eyeglasses lack side protection, which lets particles slip through. Workers may also experience an injury because they are performing a dangerous job wearing gear unsuited for such hazardous tasks.
Preventing worker eye injury
Employers can do their part to protect their workers by installing work screens and machine guards on engineering controls and conducting hazard assessments to learn what kind of eyewear their workers should have. Employers should also make sure that the proper eye protection is available for workers to use.
The good news is that you may be able to avoid eye injuries with the right training and protective wear. But some workers still experience an injury to the eyes and lose their ability to work while they recover. This is where workers’ compensation may be of assistance.
