(U.S. Department of Labor)
Workplace Lung Health Risks and Awareness
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and an opportunity to remind employers that lung health is a critical workplace issue, reaching and devastating the lives of many employees and their families every year.
Department of Labor Secretary Tom Perez warns, “Workers should never have to worry that the air they breathe on the job will slowly destroy their lungs. Yet in too many cases, that risk is still all too real at U.S. workplaces.
Occupational lung disease is slow, debilitating and lethal. A construction worker, stone cutter, foundry worker or coal miner inhales tiny bits of dust that penetrate the lungs and slowly causes them to scar over. It may be decades before health problems develop, from shortness of breath to dependency on oxygen tanks. After a lifetime of hard work, instead of a comfortable retirement, so many workers confront a grim reality: although occupational lung diseases are preventable, they are often incurable.”
Preventing Employee Lung Cancer and Lung Ailments
Occupational lung diseases are preventable and there are many tools and procedures employers can implement to reduce employee risk of lung cancer and respiratory illnesses. Additionally, OSHA and the Department of Labor are working to implement new rules, which would help to protect workers’ lungs:
- Reduce the amount of dust in air by wetting it down or vacuuming it up.
- Proper use of respirators can prevent workers from inhaling whatever dust is left in the air.
- OSHA’s silica proposal
- OSHA’s beryllium proposal
Employee Rights
You have the right to:
- Work in a safe place.
- Receive safety and health training in any language that you understand.
- Ask questions if you don’t understand instructions or if something seems unsafe.
- Use and be trained on required safety gear, such as hard hats, goggles and ear plugs.
- Exercise your workplace safety rights without retaliation or discrimination.
- File a confidential complaint with OSHA if you believe there is a serious hazard or that your employer is not following OSHA standards.
We Fight for Victims of Workplace Injuries in Georgia …Contact us Now for a Free Consultation.
We represent our Clients on a contingency agreement, which generally means that no fees or payments are owed until and unless we recover. Anyone seeking further information or legal representation is encouraged to contact us via e-mail (click here) or by telephone at 888.842.1616. Consultations are free and confidential.
Choosing the Right Attorney
Selecting the right attorney for you or your family is highly important. You must feel confident that the attorney you hire has a complete understanding of the law applicable to your particular case, and has successful experience in handling such cases.
Important: Do not hire a lawyer who has violated the Rules of Professional Conduct!!!
You should not hire an attorney who calls you or visits you unsolicited, or anyone that contacts you directly to offer legal services. This activity is strictly prohibited by Rule 7.3 of the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which states as follows:
– RULE 7.3, ABA MODEL RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT.
If an attorney, or someone acting on behalf of an attorney, contacts you in this manner, that attorney is in violation of this Rule. This unethical and unprofessional activity on the part of the lawyer is good sign that you should stay away. It is imperative that you are represented by an attorney who is capable of advocating for you within the confines of the law, and an attorney who fails to abide by the Rules of Professional Conduct is probably not the best fit. In fact, any such attorney should be immediately reported to the local State Bar Association. If you have been contacted in such an unsolicited manner, contact us and we’ll assist you in filing a report.
Contingency Fees Disclaimer: “Contingent attorneys’ fees refers only to those fees charged by attorneys for their legal services. Such fees are not permitted in all types of cases. Court costs and other additional expenses of legal action usually must be paid by the client.”