What You Should Know About Restaurant Employees And Florida Workers’ Compensation

Injuries occur on all types of job sites, from construction sites to office buildings. To be sure, a worker can be at risk of a workplace injury regardless of whether she is engaged in job duties that require heavy lifting and use of heavy machinery or she is engaged in job duties that require sitting at a desk for data entry. Yet of course, some types of workplaces pose more risks than others. While they are not the most dangerous workplace in America, restaurants can pose many different kinds of hazards for employees. Our South Florida workers’ compensation lawyers want to provide you with the information you need concerning restaurant employee injuries and seeking workers’ compensation benefits.

Injuries Affecting Restaurant Workers Are Usually Compensable 

If you got hurt while working at a restaurant, you should be able to seek workers’ compensation benefits regardless of who was responsible for your injuries. To be sure, whether a co-worker, boss, or customer’s negligence caused your injuries—and even if your own negligence caused your injuries—you should find out more about filing a workers’ compensation claim.

Restaurant Workers Routinely Suffer Various Types of Injuries 

Although injury risks likely are not the first thing that comes to mind when dining in a restaurant or stepping inside a restaurant’s doors to pick up a takeout order, workers at restaurants are routinely exposed to many different kinds of hazards. According to QSR Magazine, the following are the most common types of workplace injuries suffered by waitstaff, cooks, and other restaurant employees:

• Lacerations and punctures: Restaurant staff, including wait staff and chefs, routinely come into contact with sharp objects like knives and slicers, as well as broken glassware. These sharp objects can result in laceration and puncture injuries that are often temporarily debilitating.
• Burn injuries: Since restaurant workers often need to be in close proximity to heat sources like stoves and ovens, as well as hot liquids for coffee and tea, burns are relatively common. Indeed, restaurant workers report around 12,000 burn injuries every year.
• Sprain and strain injuries: When restaurant workers need to reach for items on high shelves or need to lift heavy materials, they can suffer damaging sprains and strains. These injuries are also common in slip and fall accidents at restaurants, which can occur when restaurant staff slip and fall due to liquid spills.
• Eye injuries: Restaurant workers are often splashed with liquids like cleaning chemicals and food grease, which can cause eye injuries.

Part-Time Restaurant Employees Can Be Eligible for Workers’ Compensation Benefits 

Since many restaurant workers are part-time employees, it is important to know that part-time restaurant workers can also be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits under Florida law. It is critical to report the injury to your employer as soon as possible but within 30 days at the latest, and to speak with a lawyer about your case.

Contact a Fort Lauderdale Workers’ Compensation Attorney 

If you got hurt while you were working at a restaurant in South Florida, one of our Fort Lauderdale workers’ compensation attorneys can assist you. Contact the Law Offices of David M. Benenfeld, P.A. to learn more.

Resource:

qsrmagazine.com/news/top-four-restaurant-injuries