Food & Beverage Servers Accidents
Workplace Hazards of Waitresses, Bartenders and Food Servers
The job market for food and beverage serving workers is huge, in North Carolina as in the rest of the country. In 2008 there were 6,300,000 food and beverage servers in the United States, including:
- Bartenders
- Combined food preparation and serving workers
- Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession and coffee shop workers
- Bar and restaurant waiters and waitresses
- Non-restaurant food servers
This industry attracts many young workers who have never worked before. They usually work long hours (consecutive lunch and dinner shifts), are on their feet most of the time, and carry heavy trays, hot plates, breakable glassware and use sharp utensils.
A large scale study of workplace accidents in the food and beverage serving industry, covering the period 2003 to 2008, showed the following:
- Non-fatal injuries and illnesses: Three of the four most frequent types of injuries were sprains and strains, cuts and lacerations, and bruises and contusions. Burns is the fourth type of frequent injury, with an incidence rate far higher than in other industries.
- Non-fatal injuries involving days away from work: The most frequent events leading to injuries are falls on the same level, a type of occurrence that is more frequent among food and beverage servers than in other industries. Food and beverage servers typically work at a very fast pace, which leads to cuts, bruises and overexertion injuries.
- Fatal injuries: Unfortunately, food and beverage workers also suffer fatal work accidents, 141 in total over the period of the study. Most of these fatalities were caused, not by typical work accidents, but by workplace violence: 97 homicides that included 14 stabbings and 64 shootings.
If you have been the victim of a workplace accident, contact Joe Miller Law in Elizabeth City, where attorney Joseph Miller, Esq has been representing injured North Carolina workers for over 20 years. Call us locally 757-455-8889 or toll-free 888-694-1671 or send us an e-mail for a FREE, no commitment discussion of your case.