Common Injuries for Food Service Workers

Food service workers are found in a wide variety of occupational settings, including restaurants and hotels, coffee shops and bars, hospitals, schools and other institutions where food is either prepared, sold, served or some combination of the three. The job titles can include waiters and waitresses, bus boys, bartenders, cooks, dishwashers and even hosts or hostesses. Each of these jobs has its own responsibilities and place in the food service system and each requires its own level of training and education, yet all are vulnerable to very similar risk for injury. The food service environment exposes its employees to wet floors, high heat, sharp objects and other dangers that they need to be vigilant about, and that their employers need to take action to protect them against. If you are a food service worker you should take the time to inform yourself about the most common injuries for food service workers, as well as the remedies that are available to you if you have been injured. The work injury attorneys at the Lancaster law firm of Vanasse Law can help you get the compensation you deserve.

Though the general public may think that food service is a relatively safe job, the truth is that one out of every twenty on-the-job injuries and illnesses take place in eating and drinking establishments.  To get an idea of the types of dangers that these environments present, here are the top four restaurant injuries according to a survey conducted by Cintas Corporation:

• Burns – Restaurant operations require that high heat is used. From fryers and stove tops to the risk of having hot liquids spilled, the risk is high. No wonder that one third of all work-related burns take place in restaurants. Though minor burns can be treated on site and will heal quickly, more serious injuries can result in scarring for life and life-threatening injuries.
• Lacerations and punctures – Employees need to take great care when handling broken dishes and glasses, knives and slicers and other sharp implements.
• Eye injuries – Whether a food service employee is working with hot grease or with caustic cleaning chemicals, the risk of a splash or spatter injury impacting vision is high.
• Sprains and strains – Food service workers lift heavy items and have to reach for items that are placed too high or in inconvenient locations. These injuries can be severe, and can lead to long-term damage to muscles and ligaments.

In addition to these injuries, food service workers are at risk for slip and fall accidents caused by wet floors or debris or food that is not quickly removed. They can fall from higher levels, down stairs, or have items that are stored on high fall on them and cause head injuries. Each of these risks is very real, and if they happen to you then you need to know your rights regarding workers’ compensation as well as filing personal injury lawsuits against responsible third parties. Contact Vanasse Law today to learn more about how we can help.