Equipment such as standing desks, special chairs, and even uniquely shaped keyboards are all produced in the name of comfort; while provided for both in-person and at-home jobs, these items are especially prevalent in work from home situations. Working remotely provides extreme flexibility, which is seen in the customization of work spaces. Online trends play an important role in these spaces too.
Standing desks in particular are very popular with the work from home crowd — in an office, people often stand to get a drink, chat with coworkers, and walk to meetings. At home, all of that can be done without ever leaving your chair, so standing desks provide some variety for a person’s mind and their body. However, as a personal injury lawyer can share, this so-called ergonomic equipment can actually lead to injuries due to improper use or improper production.
Ergonomic Injury Causes
As our friends at Cohen & Cohen can explain, a big way this type of equipment hurts users is through improper production which leads to product liability. This means the manufacturer did not create the product correctly. They may have used lower quality or cheaper materials than they were supposed to, leading to an accident. Or, there could have been a manufacturing process malfunction that led to a critical part not being included in the set sold to consumers. All of this falls on the company selling and creating the ergonomic products, and they can be held liable with the help of an attorney.
Another common cause of injuries in this space is due to improper setup of products. Standing desks often require a little bit of assembly. If users do this incorrectly, this large piece of furniture can fall on a person, crush fingers, and more. While it may seem this is due to user error, it might not be your fault at all. The company that sells the products must provide proper documentation on how to set it up. A lawyer can help you prove that the company did not include the necessary instructions to safely use the product.
Ergonomic Injuries
A note of caution should be included here, as many products labeled as ergonomic are not actually that at all. This misleading marketing can pave the way to more injuries if you are purchasing these items to help aid with conditions such as carpal tunnel. Be sure to do some research before purchasing something. If you end up with something that is not truly ergonomic, this can cause strain injuries, pain, and circulation issues.
For example, the wrong keyboard can cause carpal tunnel or worsen this condition due to the improper shape of it which puts more stress on your hands and wrists. General pain can be caused by a desk that is not created to stand up to the proper height — this can lead to customers holding their heads at strange angles which end up causing neck and back pain. Additionally, circulation issues can be caused with standing desks if a user stands too long in one place.
As you can see, ergonomic equipment might be hurting you. If you believe that products you have purchased have caused injuries to yourself or your loved ones, reach out to an attorney near you immediately for help.
