Painting a better picture for injured Denver workers
Earlier this year, a commercial painter working for an Aurora company found that he was made sick by the noxious fumes from the paints he used. He was experiencing dizziness, shortness of breath and sore throats, so he asked his supervisor for a respirator mask. According to the Colorado Independent, she not only refused to give him a mask to protect him from the fumes, she fired him for complaining.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to provide at no cost safety equipment to employees. The goal is to prevent injury and illness to workers requiring medical treatments, miss work and lose income.
When companies refuse to supply simple, affordable items such as respirator masks (approximately $40 at hardware stores), they risk having workers develop serious health problems that could easily be averted.
The worker profiled in the Independent article said he was also supplied with rickety old ladders for his work. As our regular readers know, falls are one of the leading causes of on-the-job injuries in not only painting work, but also in construction and demolition.
A good, reliable ladder is one of the most cost-effective purchases a painting company or construction contractor can make. The Independent notes that two years ago, 294 construction workers died in workplace falls, according to OSHA.
When a worker is injured in a fall, or develops an occupational disease as a result of repeated at-work exposure to toxic chemicals, an experienced workers’ compensation law firm can help them get the benefits they need. At Alverson + O’Brien, we know insurers and employers will try to deny workers’ comp benefits to deserving claimants.
We put our courtroom experience and our knowledge of Colorado labor law to work for our clients in appeals hearings. Please see our Denied Workers’ Compensation Claims page for more information.
