Many workers in Colorado are employed in the oil and gas industry. Those who are and who handle equipment need good hand protection to help prevent common injuries. The costs associated with a hand injury may be quite large, so employers may want to make sure their employees are provided with hand protection and that they wear them at all times.
Workers often have to deal with equipment and tools that become covered in oil, making them much more difficult to grip. They may clutch the tools more tightly to compensate for the slipperiness, making them more susceptible to developing carpal tunnel syndrome. Other common hand injuries may include cuts, punctures, crushing, burns from flash fires and chemical exposure irritation. Specialty gloves are available to protect against all of these things.
While a hand injury may sound not nearly as bad as other, more severe injury types that can occur in the industry, they account for 20 percent of all reported injuries in the oil and gas field. Each hand injury also has the potential of costing the employer much more than $21,000, due to a combination of both direct and indirect costs associated with it.
Victims of a workplace injury may be eligible to file a claim for benefits through their employer's workers' compensation insurance carrier. Most employers in Colorado are mandated to carry such coverage, and the benefits available can include the provision of necessary medical care and treatment as well as a percentage of any wages that are lost if the worker is unable to return to the job. Many victims of workplace accidents obtain the assistance of an attorney in preparing and filing the claim.
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