Traumatic brain injuries (“TBIs”) suffered in military service or in sports are well-recognized and researched as serious, life-altering, and potentially deadly for the TBI victim. Deservedly so. For more, read information provided by the Wounded Warrior Project for military service TBI victims and “Sports-related Head Injury,” published by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons dealing with TBI victims hurt while playing sports.
However, less widely recognized and just as catastrophic are traumatic brain injuries caused by work accidents. These are known as “work-related traumatic brain injuries,” or “WR-TBIs.” Much less research focus has been invested into WR-TBIs, its causes and consequences. Read, Paci M, Infante-Rivard C, Marcoux J. Traumatic Brain Injury in the Workplace Can J Neurol Sci. 2017 Sep;44(5):518-524. doi: 10.1017/cjn.2017.43. Epub 2017 May 22. PMID: 28528589; and Konda S, Reichard A, Tiesman HM, et al Non-fatal work-related traumatic brain injuries treated in US hospital emergency departments, 1998–2007 Injury Prevention 2015;21:115-120.
What is a WR-TBI?
Essentially, any head trauma sustained by a worker on the job may be categorized as a work-related traumatic brain injury, or WR-TBI. The bodily harm to the brain in a WR-TBI may be identical to that suffered by soldiers in battle or defensive ends on the football field, but the causes and effects of the injury are different.
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (“NIOSH”), WR-TBIs involve the following (footnotes omitted):
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a disruption in the normal function of the brain that can be caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury. TBIs are a global public health problem and is a leading cause of injury-related death and disability. While TBIs can be mild, some can be fatal or cause short- to long-term disability. Those occurring among participants in collision sports such as football are often called concussions and have been receiving increasing attention in medical literature and the media.
A common occupational injury, TBI occurring at work is referred to as work-related traumatic brain injury (WR TBI) and accounts for between 20% and 25% of work-related trauma. More severe TBIs can impact a worker’s ability to return to their preinjury job and be expensive for both workers and employers in long-term rehabilitation and disability costs.
WR-TBI can kill. They can also cause permanent harm to those who are blessed to survive the work accident. Warns one research study:
Non-fatal WRTBIs are one of the most serious workplace injuries among ED-treated work-related injuries. Non-fatal WRTBIs are much more likely to result in hospitalization compared with other types of injuries.
Most WR-TBIs are the result of three commonplace hazards on the worksite: (1) falls, slips, and trips; (2) contact with objects or equipment; and (3) transportation incidents.
Industrial Workers with Greatest Risk of WR-TBI Accidents
Certain lines of work bring greater risk of a WR-TBI than other industrial jobs. Construction workers face a great danger of suffering a WR-TBI on the job.
Other industries with a significant danger of WR-TBIs include: (1) agriculture, (2) forestry, and (3) mining. Read, Chang, Vicky C., E. Niki Guerriero, and Angela Colantonio. “Epidemiology of work‐related traumatic brain injury: A systematic review.” American journal of industrial medicine 58.4 (2015): 353-377.
While workers in the construction, agricultural, forestry, and mining industries in our part of the country face a higher risk of suffering a WR-TBI based upon research studies, they are not alone in being in danger of a serious or deadly traumatic brain injury on the job.
Any worker exposed to risks of falling from a height; having tasks involving heavy machinery or equipment; or driving or being near motor vehicles on the job can suffer a catastrophic WR-TBI.
Construction Workers at Highest Risk of WR-TBI
The NIOSH warns that of all industrial workers, those employed on our construction sites face the highest risk of WR-TBI accident injuries. Read, Construction Helmets and Work-related Traumatic Brain Injury, written by Douglas Trout, MD, MHS; G. Scott Earnest, PhD, PE, CSP; Christopher Pan, PhD, CPE; and John Z. Wu, PhD and published by the NIOSH on November 10, 2022.
From NIOSH (footnotes omitted):
The construction industry has the greatest number of both fatal and nonfatal WR TBI among U.S. workplaces…. These deaths represented 25% of all construction fatalities and 24% of all WR TBI fatalities among all industries….
Construction workers are at higher risk for TBIs because of their work in dynamic environments where they can be struck by falling and flying objects or fall from elevation. Falls, especially from roofs, ladders, and scaffolds, led to more than half of fatal WR TBIs….
Within the construction industry, those (1) working in small construction companies; and (2) working as (a) structural iron and steel workers and (b) roofers had the highest fatal TBI rate among construction workers.
Symptoms of WR-TBI
For industrial workers and their loved ones here in Illinois and Indiana, it is vital to know the symptoms of WR-TBI in order to get the head trauma victim necessary medical care and treatment as soon as possible.
While some WR-TBI accidents are so severe or deadly that emergency responders arrive for treatment at the work accident site, all too often WR-TBI victims may not reveal severe, debilitating, or life-threatening brain injuries for hours, days, or even weeks after the accident on the job. This is the difference between a “primary TBI” and a “secondary TBI.”
Symptoms of WR-TBI include:
- Anxious, fretful
- Balance issues (loss of balance)
- Blurred vision
- Brain fog, confusion
- Convulsions
- Disoriented
- Dizziness
- Eye pupils not the same size
- Eyes sensitive to light
- Fainting
- Fluids coming from nostrils or ears
- Headache
- Memory problems
- Nauseous
- Seizures
- Sleep disturbances (sleepiness, insomnia)
- Slurred speech
- Tinnitus (ringing in ears)
- Touchiness (easily vexed)
- Vertigo
- Vomiting
- Weakness in hands, arms, legs, face.
For more, read 10 Different Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries Caused by Accidents and Blunt Trauma Injuries in Industrial Work Accidents.
Employer Duty of Care to Protect Workers from Work Related Traumatic Brain Injuries
For Indiana and Illinois industrial workers and their families, it is vital that they all know there are legal duties of safety and care placed upon employers to keep workers safe from WR-TBI accidents. The steps and procedures to protect workers from a work-related traumatic brain injury are established both by regulation and industrial standards. It is no secret what needs to be done on the job site to keep people safe from falls; struck-by incidents; motor vehicle accidents; etc. that are known causes of traumatic brain injury.
As NIOSH explains, regarding the construction industry:
NIOSH and its partners are working to prevent WR TBIs. Consistent with the hierarchy of controls, prevention of WR TBIs should begin with efforts to ‘design out’ hazards and to use engineering and administrative controls at construction worksites and among construction workers. These prevention efforts are important parts of existing prevention programs — such as programs on prevention of falls, being struck by or against an object or equipment, and motor vehicle crashes.
Other necessary steps that employers should be taking to protect against WR-TBIs include:
- Providing the proper personal protective equipment (PPE), such as helmets and hardhats;
- Providing properly fitting safety harnesses;
- Inspecting all motor vehicles for safety before use;
- Monitoring all heavy equipment and machinery on the worksite with repair or replacement as necessary;
- Having fall protection systems in place (such as guardrails, nets, etc.)
- Training workers on jobsite protocols particular to their tasks as well as safety measures to prevent work injuries and accidents (such as wearing seatbelts on industrial trucks, etc.); and
- Having safety plans in place on medical care and treatment on the site in the event of a head trauma accident.
For more, read:
- Hard Hats and Worker Injuries on the Job in Illinois and Indiana
- Personal Protective Equipment and Serious Industrial Accidents
- Scaffolding Accidents in Indiana and Illinois
- Deadly Falls and Safety Harness Failures on Illinois or Indiana Work Sites.
Claims for Justice After Worker Suffers WR-TBI in Illinois or Indiana
For those workers who suffer a WR-TBI, there can be serious and immediate medical care needs as well as long-term treatment requirements. These may be considered as damage claims to be pursued by the worker- victim. Additionally, family members will have their own set of damages resulting in the accident and its aftermath.
Several surgeries may be needed to treat immediate and secondary damage. Extensive treatment may be needed for things like infection; pressure in the skull or brain; blood clots; and more. Rehabilitation costs will be needed for a long-term recovery where neurologists, psychologists, and therapists (speech; respiratory; vocational; etc.) may be involved.
Under state and federal law, workers compensation as well as third party civil claims may provide avenues for justice to the worker who has suffered a work-related traumatic brain injury. More than one company or employer on the jobsite may have legal liability for what has happened.
For more, read:
- Wrongful Death Damages After Fatal Work Accidents in Illinois or Indiana
- Catastrophic Injuries in an Accident: Damages for the Loss of a Normal Life
- Loss of Earning Capacity Damages After Accident in Illinois or Indiana
- Who Can Claim Damages After a Work Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
- Pain Awareness: Claims to Cover an Accident Victim’s Pain Damages.
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
Work-related traumatic brain injuries may not receive the media coverage or research attention of sports-related TBIs or brain trauma suffered by combat warriors, but WR-TBIs are serious injuries warranting legal redress for worker victims and their loved ones. Many WR-TBIs are preventable accidents caused by breaches of duties of care. Please be careful out there!
