Throughout Pennsylvania, many hard-working people earn a living by working in the foodservice industry. While this job can be rewarding and fast-paced, it’s also sometimes dangerous. If you want to stay safe while working in this industry, watch out for the most common accidents that food service workers experience.
Cuts and lacerations
Many people working in the fast food and restaurant industries spend lots of time prepping food for cooks and chefs. Unfortunately, a kitchen full of sharp knives and cutting devices often leads to workers accidentally cutting or lacerating themselves. Sometimes, these injuries can be so severe that employees need to seek workers compensation benefits.
Burns
You don’t have to be in a commercial kitchen for too long to realize these environments are hot. Part of what keeps these kitchens so hot are the grills, deep fryers, and other large cooking appliances. These appliances can also send hot liquid splashing upwards, causing many foodservice accidents.
Strained muscles
Sometimes, food service workers need to store heavy boxes of food in refrigerators and freezers. Without proper training, it’s easy for certain workers to pull muscles while moving around heavy boxes and equipment.
Slips and falls
One of the most important things in any restaurant is having a clean kitchen. If this doesn’t happen, it can lead to an unsanitary environment that could get a restaurant shut down. To prevent this, kitchen crews clean this area of a restaurant multiple times per day. One of the dangers of having a clean kitchen is wet floors from water and cleaning products.
To summarize, there are many potential ways for food service employees to get injured on the job. With an understanding of how these injuries happen, you can help ensure you remain safe while working in a restaurant.