People often think of safety goggles as goofy plastic eye wear, but these goggles can actually be a lifesaver. The Vision Council reports that each day, nearly 2,000 American workers suffer avoidable pain because they did not wear eye goggles while they were working. These workers often have to head to the doctor to receive medical treatment, and may have to take time off of work because their vision is impaired. In 2007, a survey showed that nearly three out of every five workers that experienced an eye injury could have prevented that injury if they had been wearing the right eye protection.
The sobering fact is that vision impairment is one of the top ten disabilities in America and 90 percent of all eye injuries are preventable. You don’t need to work with hazardous chemicals in order to get an eye injury. In fact, eye hazards can be found in almost every single industry. 61 percent of all vision impairment injuries occur in a manufacturing, construction, or trade job. Yet there have also been reports of eye injuries in medical facilities, laboratories, and offices. Not all eye injuries are due to a foreign object entering the eye.
In fact, many of these injuries occur when a person gets eye fatigue from staring at a bright screen too long, or gets on ocular disease from handling patients at a hospital who have eye illness. Between projectiles, chemicals, radiation, and blood borne pathogens, there are a variety of reasons that you can get an eye injury. For those who work in manufacturing, health care, electrical work, plumbing, welding, or, carpentry, safety goggles are very important. As well, those who work in auto repair and construction should be required to wear precautionary eye wear.
If you received an eye injury because your company did not require you to wear these safety glasses or did not provide you with a pair, then you may be able to sue. Talk to a Wilmington personal injury lawyer at the Lanier Law Group, P.A. to get started seeking damages for your eye injury!