Honoring injured New York workers on Memorial Day 2010

Today is Memorial Day, when across the country Americans gather to remember and pay tribute to those who have risked or lost their lives to defend this great nation.  Sadly, many hard-working, hard-fighting veterans come home safely, only to later be injured or killed in an on-the-job accident in New York.

After spending time in the military defending the United States, many men and women return home and take up non-military related jobs.  Some of these jobs can be dangerous, but most are just ordinary jobs intended to provide a fair and happy life for the military veteran and their family.  Some veterans take jobs as firefighters, police, or other emergency workers, using their excellent military training to protect their friends and neighbors.

There are over 3.7 million job-related injuries and illnesses reported every year across the country.  It isn’t known exactly how many of these involve military veterans, but you can bet a fair number of veterans are hurt on the job. 

Sadly, many workers – including hard-working veterans – are wary of filing for workers’ compensation after an accident.  Why?  Shouldn’t injured workers feel confident enough in ‘the system’ to ask for help when they really need it – especially after fighting for our country?

The sad truth is that in this economy workers are often afraid to file claims, worrying that they’ll be blackballed or that they’ll lose their job if they file a workers’ comp claim.  So, let’s all take a moment this Memorial Day pay tribute to our brave veterans, and make sure we’re all doing our part to protect their working rights once they return home to serve us again in a civilian role.