There are a great many of factors that affect the health of the human body. Personal Injury Legal Team at Evergreen Personal Injury Counsel know that some of these factors are internal, such as hereditary or genetic predispositions. A lot have to do with the ways that we do or don’t choose to take care of ourselves: exercise, dietary habits, lifestyle choices, etc.
Yet while the interaction of these two kinds of factors are a regular focus among health studies and discussions, the influence that our environment has on personal health is oftentimes left out of the conversation. This is problematic because a great many factors that we regularly encounter in the environments we frequently inhabit throughout different periods of our lives can pose health hazards for us.
If an apartment building or home is not properly maintained or up to code, it can be very dangerous. Insect or fungal infestations such as black mold or bed bugs can cause serious health problems; unsalted frozen pathways can cause a person to slip and fall; a faulty furnace can leak deadly carbon monoxide; and drinking water can be contaminated with any number of harmful toxic agents or natural contaminants like lead.
Many states, such as Washington or California, require residential buildings to note when chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects are present, but that doesn’t mean that these buildings will necessarily do anything to fix the problem causing these health issues. If you live in such a building in the greater Tacoma area, it is advisable that you contact the landlord of the premises for more information, and then take that information to a local premises liability lawyer at Evergreen Personal Injury Counsel.
Work injuries are also very common. In previous blog posts, we’ve discussed a number of the kinds of hazards that people can face in the workplace. Among the many possible hazards here are dangerous machinery, pitfalls of poor maintenance like slippery floors or stairways without rails, exposure to radiation, water problems such as toxicity, or air quality issues such as exposure to carbon monoxide, black mold, or asbestos. If you believe dangers like these could pose a threat to you or your colleagues’ health and safety at work, please contact one of our personal injury legal team at Evergreen Personal Injury Counsel in Tacoma right away so that we can do our best to help protect you.
However, on top of more overt hazards like these, a lack of concern for employee welfare can also be hazardous to the health of employees in other ways. One of the most glaring factors related to work environment is healthcare. A workplace that offers subpar healthcare or no healthcare will not protect its workers from sickness or accidents, nor will it allow a person to fulfill the tasks necessary to maintain a state of good health: regular check-ups, teeth cleanings, etc.
Another way that a workplace environment can negatively affect your personal health is by encouraging unhealthy lifestyle choices. If your job is low-paying, it will be more difficult to afford the costs necessary for a regular exercise routine (such as exercise class fees or a gym membership) and to afford healthy food such as fruits, vegetables, and organic products. If it’s only situated near fast-food restaurants, you may be much more frequently tempted to eat greasy food.
Whether they be work-related or home-related, a personal injury lawyer can help assist you with any of these types of issues or incidents no matter where they occurred in the greater Tacoma region or elsewhere. Any environment you inhabit–even for a very small duration–can be hazardous to your health in some way because accidents occur. You can slip on a recently cleaned floor without a sign, get thrown from a carnival ride, be attacked by a poorly trained animal, or have any number of other kinds of accidents.
All people deserve access to a safe and healthy environment. To get some expert advice on accidents like the ones we discussed today, please contact the personal injury legal team here at Evergreen Personal Injury Counsel immediately. We will fight to make sure that your world is a safer and more just place!
Sources:
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehhe/
http://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/assessment/potential_data/injuries.htm
https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/commonstats.html