What to Do When Your College Job Results in a Serious Injury
No student expects to get injured on-the-job. Whether working at an on-campus research facility or starting an internship in downtown Providence, RI, chances are the last thing on your mind is that you’ll be involved in an accident.
Chances are, too, you’d never believe an accident would leave you with injuries that make it impossible to return to work, complicate your ability to complete your education and lead to thousands of dollars of medical bills. But as any workplace injury lawyer from Fall River, MA to Hood River, OR knows, accidents happen at worksites – and they sometimes involve students who may be working part-time to put themselves through school.
Types of injuries students can sustain at work
What are common types of injuries sustained by students? The list is long and distressing. A high school student may be injured while working at a vocational school’s machine shop. College students may get hurt on-the-job due to negligent property maintenance or after a car accident in a parking lot.
Injured students may have never seen the accident coming. Chances are an injured student could have done nothing to prevent his or her accident. Workplace accidents involving students can cover a wide range of injuries and include the following types of accidents:
- Industrial and machine accidents: Students receiving on-the-job or vocational training often work with heavy machinery and may be exposed to hazardous work conditions. Accidents can be caused by defective products and injuries may occur due to improper safety procedures or a lack of safety equipment.
- Car accidents: On-the-job car accidents are surprisingly common in Rhode Island, particularly in the Providence area. For high school students working as delivery drivers to college students with internships requiring heavy travel, it is critical employers put safety first and properly maintain their vehicles. A failure to so do can have catastrophic results. No matter the cause, it’s critical to contact an attorney immediately.
- Premises accidents: There’s no reason why any employee should fear being in an accident caused by negligent property maintenance. That’s because employees have a moral and legal obligation to keep their premises well-maintained. Premises accidents cover a wide variety, including slip and fall accidents due to broken floorboards, falls from heights due to broken handrails, and injuries sustained on ice covered walkways.
- Negligent security: Employers are responsible for providing workers with a safe and secure work environment. If poor lighting leads to an assault in a parking lot or a lack of security cameras or security guards was to blame for an on-the-job accident, you may be able to pursue an injury claim against the negligent party who failed to properly secure the premises.
Unfortunately, students often find that dealing with their on-the-job injuries is merely part of the problem. That’s because although students believe their employer may be looking out for their best interests, both the employer – and its insurance company – try to do everything they can to reduce or deny your compensation. When the claim gets complicated, it’s best to contact a workplace injury lawyer in Providence immediately. A delay in doing so may affect your right to collect the compensation you deserve after an accident.