Order picking and material handling is an important task in most manufacturing industries and, unfortunately, on-the-job injuries are not uncommon. Back injuries incurred while lifting are among the most common hazards for order pickers. But order pickers also face risks of other types of injuries, including trips and falls, shoulder, elbow or arm strains, injuries from falling objects, and injuries involving forklifts and other material-handling equipment.
Order pickers and other material handlers should observe the following precautions to avoid the most common types of on-the-job injuries:

• Use material-handling aids, such as hand trucks and four-wheeled carts whenever possible to minimize heavy lifting and carrying.
• Keep materials and supplies stored at a level between the knees and shoulders. It is much more physically strenuous to lift things from below knee level or from above shoulder height.
• Slide, push, or pull materials and supplies whenever possible to avoid heavy lifting and carrying.
• Avoid twisting the body while carrying a heavy object. Ask a co-worker for help when carrying a heavy object.
• Use both hands when carrying loads and keep the load close to the body.
• Rotate heaving lifting duties with lighter work to reduce wear and tear on the body.

It is extremely important that you have trust and confidence in your attorney. Many times I talk to people who are already represented in their Minnesota workers’ compensation claims and they reach out for a second opinion or have questions that their present attorney isn’t answering for them. It is important to know that you are able to switch attorneys at any point in your representation, without any cost to you. If you choose to switch attorneys, you can continue treating with your present doctor, you can continue seeing your current Qualified Rehabilitation Consultant (QRC).

With regard to attorneys’ fees, it doesn’t matter whether you switch. Regardless, attorneys’ fees are capped at 20% for all Minnesota workers’ compensation attorneys. If we do settle your case or get a resolution hearing, it is between your present attorney and your prior attorney to sort out the fees amongst themselves. You will not have to pay any additional monies for making the switch.

Therefore, if you have any questions or need a second opinion with regard to your claim, feel free to give us a call at Meuser Law Office, P.A. We are happy to answer any questions you may have or give you a second opinion. Again, it is so important that you have trust and confidence in your attorney.

That’s a tough question. While skin cancer, in some instances, could arguably be an occupational disease that was substantially caused by a workers’ sun exposure while on the job, the difficulty is in proving the medical causal relationship between the skin cancer and the work activities.

Sun cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States and sun exposure is, without question, a cause of skin cancer. But, whether that exposure is during work hours or outside of work hours would be hard to determine. Because it would be so difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of skin cancer in terms of which period of sun exposure actually caused the cancer to develop, workers who develop skin cancer are probably going to have a difficult time in establishing these occupational disease claims for purposes of Minnesota workers’ compensation coverage.

If you sustain an injury while in the course and scope of your employment here in the state of Minnesota you have various rights under the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Act. Before you’re entitled to those rights however, you are required to do certain things. This is very important. Often times employees will hold off on filing the First Report of Injury thinking that the injury will go away or they will give it a rest over the weekend or ‘I’ll ice it tonight’ and unfortunately they don’t report the injuries. The most important aspect of what you do is to report that injury. In our opinion you need to do more than simply report the injury to your supervisor.

Often times a supervisor will not write it down or the supervisor will not report it to Human Resources. So in order to protect yourself now and in the future you need to send the supervisor, HR or the appropriate person written documentation that you have, in fact, sustained an injury; when the injury occurred; how it occurred; and what body part was affected. From there, your responsibility ends.

The employer is then responsible to prepare what is called a First Report of Injury. This is a document that they are required to file with the state of Minnesota confirming that in fact you have sustained an injury and that it has been reported to them. From there they will contact the workers’ compensation liability carrier and the process begins as it relates to your claim.

At Meuser Law Office, P.A. we work on a contingency fee basis, which means our attorney fees are based on the amount we recover on your behalf. It also means that there is no fee unless we recover benefits on your behalf.

Call Meuser Law Office, P.A. at 877-746-5680 for a free, no-obligation Minnesota workers’ compensation legal consultation. Let the experienced attorneys at Meuser Law help you understand this often confusing area of the law and ensure you receive the full benefits you are entitled to.