While there are a lot of perks when a person works for the local, state or federal government, these workers are not immune from workplace accidents. A workplace accident, or workplace injury, can happen to any worker, in any line of work at anytime. Workers need to be as careful as they can to avoid dangerous situations, but sometimes the danger is beyond their control.
Recently a postal work in New York was injured on the job after being attacked by a local resident. In this case, a 53-year-old blind woman attacked the letter carrier after he was handing mail to the woman’s children instead of putting the mail into her mailbox. After an initial confrontation, the postal worker apparently retreated to the apartment building’s mailroom and shut the door.
According to police, the woman followed the carrier to the room and kicked open the door. She proceeded to hit the man in the elbow with enough force to split his arm open. The woman then proceeded to her local post office to complain about the letter carrier and further threatened employees. Police eventually used a Taser gun on the woman to get her under control.
Government employees, like the postal worker in this case, have legal recourse after they are injured on the job. Just like private employees, workers’ compensation is available to government employees to help pay for expenses caused by the workplace accident. Workers’ compensation will cover lost wages, medical expenses and other costs associated with the injury. Government workers should understand their rights following a workplace accident, including their right to compensation.
Source: New York Post, “Blind-rage lady tased,” Natasha Velez, Georgett Roberts and Daniel Prendergast, August 9, 2013