The Centers for Disease Control reports that there are about 2,000 work-related eye injuries each day that require medical treatment. About one third of those injuries are treated in the emergency room at a hospital and more than 100 of those injuries will result in the loss of one or more days of work.

What are some of the common causes for occupational eye injuries?

There are many different ways in which the eye could receive an injury or contract a disease in the workplace including:

• Small particles such as saw dust, wood chips, metal slivers and cement dust striking or abrading the eye
• Flying objects such as nails, staples, splinters of wood or shards of glass can penetrate the eye causing permanent vision loss
• Blunt force trauma to the eyeball or eye socket
• Chemical burns to the eyes from splashes of chemicals or cleaning products
• Thermal and UV radiation burns from a welder’s flash
• Vision problems that go uncorrected
• Hazardous working conditions
• Wearing the wrong eye safety protection

Aside from eye injuries, there is the risk of infectious disease transmitted through the eye from exposure to blood splashes, respiratory droplets from sneezing or coughing or touching the eye with contaminated fingers for health care workers.

Filing a workers’ compensation claim for an occupational eye injury

Vision loss or blindness caused by a workplace injury can have a devastating impact on your ability to earn a living. If you have suffered an injury to your eyes in the workplace you may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim.

You will need to be seen by a doctor who can assess what caused your vision loss and measure the severity of the injury in order to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. The severity of your eye injury and vision loss will have an impact on how much workers’ compensation benefits you will be eligible to receive.

A workers’ comp lawyer will help you gather the information you will need in order to file your claim. They will be able to advise you on how to proceed, and they will know many of the pitfalls to avoid when filing your claim.

If you have suffered work-related vision loss or blindness, you are welcome to contact the Philadelphia workers’ compensation attorneys at Larry Pitt & Associates to discuss your case. We have multiple offices that help keep us nearby to our clients throughout Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties.