When employers task employees with jobs for which they do not have the necessary qualification or certification, the consequences could be severe. This appears to have been the case in a scaffold collapse that caused workplace injuries to five workers in Oklahoma. Authorities say neither the workers nor their employer were licensed to do the work that was done.
The Oklahoma State Labor Department reports that the five workers were dismantling elevator scaffolding when the structure collapsed. The workers fell from a height of approximately 30 feet. According to the authorities, the contractor did not have the necessary elevator contractor license, and the workers also lacked elevator technician licenses. This means that they were not skilled to do the work with which they were tasked.
Authorities further said they issued an elevator license to the construction company after inspecting the elevator. However, the license was not issued to the contractor who ultimately did the work. Fortunately, none of the workers lost their lives in this preventable workplace accident.
Workplace injuries that involve falls from heights typically lead to substantial medical expenses, and they might even prevent victims from returning to work for an extended period. The Oklahoma workers’ compensation insurance program offers financial assistance to help injured workers cope with the unanticipated financial consequences. The support and guidance of an experienced workers’ comp attorney can be invaluable when it comes to the claims process. The system typically pays medical expenses immediately, and payments to cover lost wages start after a specific number of days of absence due to the injuries.