How Architects Get Hurt on the Job

Many professions do not immediately come to mind when Floridians think about workplace injury risks or occupational diseases. However, it is important to keep in mind that a person can suffer a work-related injury or develop some form of occupational disease at nearly any job, and many of these injuries make the worker eligible for compensation through the Florida workers’ compensation system. Architects can sustain injuries in a range of ways on the job, from overuse or repetitive stress injuries while working on designs at a desk to traumatic injuries while onsite at a construction project. A West Palm Beach workers’ compensation lawyer at our firm can provide you with more information and can help you to seek workers’ compensation benefits in the aftermath of an injury.

Understanding Architect Job Duties and Injury Risks 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) makes clear that architects’ jobs involve a wide range of duties and tasks, from those that occur behind a desk to those that involve monitoring or inspection on a construction site. The following are just some of the job duties the BLS cites for architects:

• Meeting with clients to identify how a project should be shaped;
• Providing cost estimates for building and construction;
• Designing buildings, from residential homes and condominiums to commercial structures;
• Preparing architectural drawings (which tends to be done either by hand or on a computer);
• Handling aspects of construction contracts; and
• Visiting construction sites to ensure that the construction of a project is adhering to the specifications in the design or plans.

What kinds of injuries can these duties result in? The following can be common:

• Repetitive stress injuries arising out of intensive, prolonged, and repetitive use of drawing tools or computer programs;
• Slips and falls, or trips and falls, that occur around the office or on construction sites;
• Cuts and lacerations from handling of physical drawing materials and hard-copy prints; and
• Struck-by injuries on construction sites.

How Workers’ Compensation Benefits Work 

If you do suffer any of the above types of injuries or any others while working as an architect or on a construction site, you may be able to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. Those benefits usually include both medical coverage and wage-replacement benefits, and you may be eligible for additional compensation, as well.

To obtain workers’ compensation benefits, you will need to report the injury to your employer no later than 30 days from the date it occurred, and you will need to get treated as soon as possible by an approved health care provider. An experienced workers’ compensation attorney in West Palm Beach can provide you with specifics in relation to your case.

Contact Our West Palm Beach Workers’ Compensation Lawyers 

Whether you were injured on the job while working as an architect or in another profession, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. One of our experienced West Palm Beach workers’ compensation attorneys at the Law Offices of David M. Benenfeld, P.A. can provide you with more information. We are here to discuss the details of your work-related injury with you and to help you seek the compensation you need. Do not hesitate to get in touch with us to find out more about how we can help.

Sources:

bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/architects.htm

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0440/0440.html