Indiana Workplace Exposure

Workplace Injuries Caused by Toxic Hazards

Toxic chemicals are used every day in medicine, agriculture, industry, manufacturing, and construction. Harmful exposure to toxic chemicals may be purely accidental, but too often, the exposure occurs as a result of deliberate or negligent industry practices.

Workers are also exposed when they work with products such as: benzene, coal tar pitch, TCE, PCE, heavy metals and other toxins. In many cases, they are not warned about the dangers of working with these toxins, nor supplied with adequate protective equipment, resulting in subsequent cancers or neurological diseases.

Being exposed to toxic chemicals can cause many serious and life-threatening medical conditions, including mesothelioma, cancer, birth defects, and even death. The only way to know if illness is the result of toxic exposure is by consulting with a medical doctor.

George & Farinas, LLP can help to determine your next step in a workplace injury case and provide you with the legal guidance you need.

Workplace Exposure Stats

Workplace exposure happens when your skin is exposed to chemicals (called dermal exposure) or when you inhale toxins (respiratory exposure). Per every 10,000 employees in the United States, nearly 2 people are diagnosed with respiratory illnesses and almost 4 people develop skin disease. Around the world, someone dies from toxic exposure in their workplace every 30 seconds, and cancer is the most common consequence of workplace exposure.

If you are working with hazardous chemicals, some exposure may be inevitable, but you should be able to limit this exposure using personal protective equipment (PPE) and other safety practices.

Click here for a list of chemical agents recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and click here to learn about managing chemical safety in the workplace.

If you have been denied PPE or unjustly exposed to chemicals or toxins, call our team for assistance.

Initial Symptoms of Workplace Exposure

The best way to prevent the long-term consequences of workplace exposure is to identify the exposure right away and respond appropriately.

Initial symptoms of workplace exposure include:

• Skin irritations or rashes
• Itchy, watery, or burning eyes
• Nose and throat irritation
• Nausea
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• And more

If you notice any of these warning signs at work, talk to your employer about your concerns right away. You may need to be removed from the environment or provided with PPE before symptoms intensify. Severe symptoms can damage your kidney, liver, or central nervous system, so you will need to act right away.

You can also contact our firm online for top-notch legal representation backed by over a decade of legal experience.