Multitasking and pushing yourself to your limits may seem like admirable qualities. In fact, some employers seemingly require those behaviors. The truth is that trying to do those can lead to conditions that constitute safety hazards.
Many people don’t realize how much of a negative effect fatigue can have on a person’s ability to do normal things, such as driving a vehicle or doing their job duties. If you go 18 hours without sleep, you will experience effects similar to a person who has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .05%. If that increases to 20 hours without sleep, you will have similar effects as someone who has a BAC of .08%, which is legally intoxicated.
Considerable risks can occur in every setting
In the workplace, especially in industries like construction, healthcare, and transportation, fatigue can lead to serious mistakes. Dropped tools, misread instructions or slow reactions to emergencies can all lead to accidents or injuries. Even in office settings, fatigue can result in costly errors that affect productivity and safety.
Driving while fatigued is especially risky because it turns a complex, high-speed task into a potential disaster. If you’re fatigued, you may drift between lanes, miss traffic signals or even fall asleep at the wheel. These moments don’t need to last long to be deadly. A brief lapse in attention on the road can have devastating consequences.
Legal action can sometimes stem from incidents that occur due to fatigue. This might be a personal injury claim against a fatigued driver or the need for workers’ compensation if an employee suffers an injury at work. In every case, seeking assistance with the matter is beneficial because of the potential complexities of these cases.