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One thing that we often see as your trusted workers’ compensation attorneys in Gurnee is that many workplace injuries could be avoided if employers invested more in making safer workplaces. This doesn’t mean the type of safety required by OSHAA, but rather the kind of safety that protects your employees from repetitive strain injuries like carpal tunnel and bursitis. We’re talking about ergonomics, and it’s a topic that many employers don’t understand as a great tool to protect themselves against workers’ compensation claims.

Defining Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the word used to label the many different methods of creating a workplace that maximizes comfortable, efficient work. It involves tailoring a workplace to the needs of the employee’s body to promote overall wellbeing. This not only protects their safety but also makes them more efficient because they aren’t battling soreness and muscle fatigue as they work.

Examples of Ergonomics at Work

Here are some great examples of ergonomic tools that help employees stay safer and more efficient:

• Ergonomic chairs that reduce lower back strain. This can help someone who works at a computer or workstation all day to have better posture. In the long run, this will help prevent back problems and keep employees healthier.
• Ergonomic keyboards that help reduce wrist and finger strain. This type of tool helps prevent the all-too-common carpal tunnel that plagues the office worker. In the long run, it also helps prevent arthritis.
• Lifting gear, such as a forklift or even a strap that helps reduce injuries due to lifting heavy loads. These types of tools can help you avoid back, shoulder, neck, and arm injuries in the workplace. Just because something like a forklift isn’t labeled ergonomic doesn’t mean it’s not an ergonomic tool.

Employers can use this understanding of ergonomics to help provide a safer and healthier workplace for everyone and avoid workers’ compensation cases by cutting down on accidents.

Why This Matters to Employees

At the Robert T. Edens Law Office in Gurnee, we primarily work as workers’ compensation attorneys with employees who have suffered workplace injuries. However, this knowledge of what ergonomics is, and how it can be used in the workplace, can help employees approach their employers about making the workplace safer. In the meantime, we’re here to help you navigate the workers’ compensation process. Contact us today to get started with your claim if you have been injured in the workplace.