Landscape workers provide important services to residential and commercial property owners throughout the San Diego area. While many individuals may associate landscaping only with the aesthetic value of properties, landscaping can also involve important structural and maintenance work that keeps properties safe. Workers in this industry must have specific skills and knowledge to safely perform the duties of their jobs.
Because of the range of activities and responsibilities that landscapers engage in, the come into contact with many dangerous items through their work. This post will discuss some of the types of harm that can befall landscape workers while they are on the job. When landscaping injuries happen at work, victims should know they may have rights to compensation through their employers.
Landscaping injuries caused by machinery
When landscaping projects involve moving earth and restructuring the layout of land, heavy equipment may be needed. That equipment, when improperly used, may cause victims significant injuries from crushes, collisions, and other forms of harm. Smaller equipment, such as handheld electrical tools, can cause victims electrical shocks, abrasions, cuts, and other forms of injuries.
Landscaping injuries caused by conditions
Landscapers work outside, and as such they are required to work in sometimes inhospitable conditions. They may have to work on uneven properties where equipment may roll or victims may fall. They may have to work on rough terrain or outdoors during windy, rainy, or excessively hot conditions. The conditions where a landscaper must work may contribute to their chances of suffering serious injuries.
Landscape injuries caused by improper training
Finally, injuries to landscape workers can occur when individuals are not trained to properly perform the tasks of their work. Workers who do not lift heavy objects correctly, or who do not use tools the right way, may suffer preventable workplace injuries that cost them time on the job.
Landscapers do important work. They should not suffer injuries on the job, but when they do, they should know their rights. Workers’ compensation attorneys can help them sort out their work-related losses.