Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Massachusetts Teen Work Injuries
As the summer season approaches, many teenagers will start their first job that will provide them with money and feeling of responsibility. Yet, many people don't know that teens are at higher risk of injury on the job than adults.
Teen workplace injuries have seen a decline in Massachusetts, but they still remain a major problem. A recent report released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health shows thousands of reported emergency room visits by teenagers being injured in the workplace.
Teen Work-Related Injuries in Massachusetts
The report, which was based on the Mass. Health Department's "Teens at Work'' project, collected data from hospital emergency departments and Massachusetts workers' compensation claims.
The report shows that in the period between 2004 through 2008,
- Three teens under 18 died from injuries on the job,
- More than 4,000 teens visited hospital emergency rooms for work-related injuries,
- About 30 percent of the injuries occurred in retail jobs, another 30 percent in hotel, restaurant, or food-service jobs. These are the places typically hire younger workers that accept lower wages than more experienced workers.
The decline in the number of teenagers injured at work may be linked to the rising unemployment rates, but the rate of injuries has declined only slightly since 2000. And the number of teen work-related injuries is still about twice the rate for older, more experienced workers.
Types of Common Teen Work Injuries
Some of the common injuries that teenagers reported included:
- Hand Injuries: a thumb cut by a meat slicer, or a hand injury from a cracked plate in a dishwasher.
- Burn injuries involving hot grease.
- Slip and Fall injuries involving wet or slippery floors (mostly in teens working in restaurants).
- Shoulder strain, or other sprains from heavy lifting.
How to Prevent Teen Injuries
Some of the ways that business and private employers can prevent work injuries to their teenage workers is to raise awareness of teen injuries and to provide more training to their workers, whether they are part-time or full-time.
Teen injuries are also linked to the fact that many employers simply disregard child labor laws. Massachusetts state law prohibits most jobs for children under 14, but according to the report, nearly one-fifth of Massachusetts middle school students in 2009 reported that they held jobs other than baby-sitting or yard work.
Federal law states that minors should not be put in dangerous work situations, or engage in dangerous activities such as using power-driven meat slicers, wood-working machines, or bakery equipment. They cannot work in coal mines, meat packing plants, or saw mills.
However, teenagers often disregard their own safety by blindly following instructions from their employers, even if it means putting their life in danger, such as the teens who were asked to retrieve their chain's shopping carts from the highway.
When to Seek Legal Help
If your teen has been injured on the job due to employer's negligence, you may be eligible to seek compensation for their workplace injuries. Talk to an experienced workers' comp attorney in your area. If the workplace accident occurred in Massachusetts, the Boston personal injury law firm Kiley Law Group can help you win a rightful compensation for the pain suffered.
Call 1-888-208-1695 today. Free Consultations.
