Chemical Injury Lawyers in San Diego
Working with hazardous chemicals and toxic substances provides a significant health risk to workers. Chemical exposure can happen suddenly as the result of a chemical spill or other accident in the workplace. Continual exposure to hazardous chemicals or toxic materials over time can also cause injuries and damage to the eyes, skin and lungs. If you suffered a chemical related work injury, our Chemical Exposure Attorney in San Diego will help you to get the compensation you deserve.
Some common symptoms of chemical exposure injuries include:
- Eye irritation, including light sensitivity, watery eyes, swollen eyelids, blurred or decreased vision
- Skin irritation, including red, blotchy
- Lung irritation, including breathing problems, shortness of breath, pain while breathing or burning in the lungs
Specialized Chemical Exposure Attorney in San Diego
If hazardous materials are present at your place of employment, and you think you may have suffered an injury from chemical exposure, you should seek medical treatment right away. You also may be entitled to make a workers’ compensation claim for injuries caused by exposure to toxic materials or hazardous chemicals. Many times companies do not ensure that employees are properly trained in hazmat handling before assigning them duties involving hazardous chemicals. In those cases, the employer may be liable for damages caused by chemical exposure due to their negligence.
Call the Golden State Workers Compensation at 619.415.0097 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation about your chemical exposure case with one of our experienced workers compensation lawyers right here in San Diego .
We’re at your disposal regardless of the type of workplace injury you have suffered. Do you need a participating hearing loss attorney in San Diego? How about San Diego’s leading carpal tunnel injury attorney? Perhaps you require a knee, ankle or foot injury attorney in San Diego to help determine who is responsible for your construction accident? Whatever the case may be, here at the Golden State Workers Compensation, we can help you claim the benefits that are due to you.
What you need to know about chemical exposure at the workplace
Employees at a job site can be exposed to dangerous chemicals. Although not all chemicals are toxic, some factories and plants use dangerous chemicals to manufacture and produce substances, such as a paint factory, a fertilizer factory, or a factory that makes cleaning chemicals.
Factories and manufacturing plants are required to provide proper ventilation on the job site. Workers are also required to wear protective gear all the time when working in a dangerous environment. The factory or employer has a duty to provide their workers with safety equipment and protective gear. Examples of safety equipment include goggles, helmet, full body suit, face mask, gloves, and sturdy shoes. Exhaust fans that provide ventilation are also considered part of the protective gear. If the personal protective gear provided to the employees is inadequate, the toxic chemicals can cause injury to the employees. Examples of these common toxic chemicals include mercury, paint, lead, asbestos, solvents, acids, pesticides and so on.
What is considered chemical exposure?
Exposure to chemicals at the workplace can take different forms. For example, an employee can breathe in toxic fumes, they can have direct skin contact with some harmful chemical like an acid, or they might even accidentally swallow the chemical. Some common injuries as a result of chemical exposure at the job site can include burns, rashes, itchiness and redness of the skin, neurological injuries, and brain damage, as well as throat and lung injuries. Throat and lung injuries are a result of inhaling the toxic fumes. Skin problems, including burns and rashes are a result of direct exposure to the chemical, whereas neurological issues and brain damage may arise from swallowing the chemical. The type of injury and the severity of the injury depend on the type of chemical to which the worker was exposed to.
Can you get Worker’s Compensation Coverage?
When a worker or employee gets injured at the job due to chemical exposure, they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. When filing a workers’ compensation claim, the worker is not blaming anyone, like their manager or their employer. They are not holding anyone at fault, as is the case in a personal injury lawsuit. The worker simply has to prove that they were exposed to a toxic chemical on the job which resulted in an injury. For a worker to have their workers’ compensation claim accepted, they need to take certain steps:
- Ensure that the exposure was reported to their supervisor as soon as possible
- Give details of exactly what happened and how
- Give names of anyone who may have witnessed the exposure
- Seek medical treatment immediately if needed
- Inform their healthcare provider about the chemical exposure
