Home / Practice Areas / Workers' Compensation / Hazardous Substance Exposure
.png)
Since 1953
Family-Owned Firm
$100M+
Recovered for Ohio Workers
3 Generations
of Knisley Attorneys
No Fees
Unless We Win
Is a Chemical Exposure Injury Covered
by Ohio Workers' Comp?
If a chemical, gas, or toxic substance hurt you while you were working in Ohio, your injury is covered by Workers' Compensation, no matter who was at fault. Ohio is a no-fault Workers' Comp state.
Because a burn, inhalation injury, or poisoning usually happens in a single event, Ohio treats it as an injury like any workplace accident, so you do not have to prove anyone was careless. If you were hurt on the job, your medical care and part of your lost wages are covered from the start, just like any other Ohio Workers' Compensation claim.
This is different from an illness that builds up slowly, like asbestos disease or occupational cancer. That is an occupational disease, with different rules and deadlines. If your illness came on gradually, see our long-term exposure illnesses page instead.
A chemical injury also often opens a second door. If a safety rule was broken or the chemical itself was dangerous, you may be owed far more than a basic claim pays, and we cover both paths below.
Common Chemical Exposure Injuries at Work
The most common workplace chemical exposure injuries are chemical burns, toxic inhalation injuries, carbon monoxide poisoning, acute chemical poisoning, and chemical eye injuries. Each one can be serious or even fatal.
Chemical burns
Acids, caustics, and strong solvents can burn skin on contact. A splash or a leak can cause deep burns that need emergency care and leave lasting scars.
Toxic inhalation injury
Breathing in chlorine, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, or other fumes can injure your lungs and airways in a single exposure. Severe cases cause chemical pneumonitis and long-term breathing problems.
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide from generators, forklifts, or furnaces builds up fast in an enclosed space. It has no smell, so workers can be poisoned before they know anything is wrong.
Acute chemical poisoning
Pesticides, solvents, and heavy metals can poison you when they are absorbed through the skin, swallowed, or inhaled on the job. The effects can hit within minutes or hours.
Chemical eye injuries
A splash to the eyes can cause corneal burns and even permanent vision loss. Eye injuries are one of the most common reasons chemical exposures send workers to the emergency room.
Gas leaks and confined-space events
A sudden gas release or a leak in a tank or confined space can displace oxygen and overwhelm a worker in seconds. These events are among the most dangerous on any job site.
Slow-developing illnesses like occupational cancer, asbestosis, and occupational asthma are handled as
occupational diseases, not acute injuries.
.png)
How Chemical Exposures Happen at Work
Most workplace chemical exposures come from spills and splashes, gas or fume leaks, poor ventilation, missing or wrong protective equipment, and dangerous confined-space work. Often a safety step was skipped.
When a safety violation or defective product is to blame
Many chemical injuries trace back to a missing respirator, broken ventilation, no hazard training, or a Safety Data Sheet the worker was never shown.
Ohio workers face these hazards in chemical and plastics plants, manufacturing, agriculture, warehousing, welding, and cleaning jobs. A chemical injury is rarely the worker's fault. It usually traces back to a hazard that should have been controlled.
What to Do After a Chemical Exposure at Work in Ohio
Get emergency medical care, write down the chemical or product that hurt you, report it to your employer, and file a First Report of Injury (FROI) with the Ohio BWC. You generally have one year from the injury date to file.
Get Emergency
Medical Care
Get treated first, and tell every provider exactly what substance was involved.
Identify And
Save The Substance
Write down the chemical or product name and keep the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) or label as evidence.
Report It
To Your Employer
Tell your employer as soon as you can, in writing if possible.
File Your
BWC Claim
File a First Report of Injury (FROI) with the Ohio BWC to open your claim.
Know Your Deadline And Call A Lawyer
You generally have one year from the injury date to file, not
from diagnosis like an occupational disease.
Workers' Comp Benefits
You Can Recover
A chemical exposure claim can pay for your medical treatment, replace part of your lost wages, compensate you for any lasting impairment, and fund vocational rehabilitation.
Medical Treatment
Workers' Comp covers your care, including emergency treatment, decontamination, burn or lung care, and rehabilitation, with no out-of-pocket cost for an allowed condition.
Lost wages (TTD)
If your injury keeps you off work, temporary total disability benefits replace part of your lost wages while
you recover.
Permanent Partial Disability
If the exposure leaves lasting damage, such as scarring or reduced lung function, PPD benefits recognize that impairment.
Vocational Rehab
If you cannot return to the same job, vocational rehabilitation can help
you retrain and find work within
your restrictions.
What is your chemical exposure claim worth?
There is no set price. Value depends on how serious the burn or poisoning is, whether you need ongoing care, how much work you miss, whether a safety violation or another company was involved, and any lasting impairment. We cannot promise a number, but we can explain how value is decided and fight for every source you
qualify for.
Beyond Workers' Comp: VSSR Awards and Third-Party Claims
A chemical injury can pay more than a basic Workers' Comp claim. If your employer broke a safety rule, a VSSR adds 15% to 50%. And if the company that made the chemical or another company on the site caused your injury, you may have a separate third-party claim.
A VSSR Additional Award
Stays inside the Ohio BWC system
Applies when your employer violated a specific safety requirement
Covers failing to provide a respirator, proper ventilation, or hazard training and Safety Data Sheets
Adds an extra 15% to 50% on top of your benefits
Learn how these claims work on our VSSR page.
A Third-Party Claim
Against a non-employer
The maker of a failed valve, tank, respirator, or another company on the site
Covers the full lost wages and pain and suffering Workers' Comp does not pay
Equipment maker
Another company on site
How Our Ohio Workers' Comp Attorneys Help
Our family handles every stage of a chemical exposure claim, from filing your First Report of Injury to proving what hurt you, pursuing the equipment maker or a safety violation, and arguing appeals. You focus on healing, and we handle the fight.
Filing Your BWC Claim
We file your First Report of Injury (FROI) and make sure your allowed conditions reflect the full injury from the start.
Appealing Denied Claims
When a claim is denied, we fight it through every
level, from DHO and SHO hearings to the
Industrial Commission.​
Pursuing TTD Benefits
Wage replacement while you cannot work, filed on the C-84. We make sure your wage rate is calculated correctly.
An extra 15% to 50% when your employer violated a safety rule, like missing ventilation, PPE, or hazard training. See how VSSR claims work
Compensation for lasting impairment, filed on the C-92 and based on your impairment rating.
​
Settlements & Lump-Sum
When it fits your goals, we negotiate a lump-sum settlement of your claim and explain the tradeoffs before you decide.​
New to the system? Read our guide on getting paid after a work injury.
Related Workplace Injuries We Handle
Knisley Law represents Ohio workers across every kind of workplace injury, anywhere a BWC claim is on the line.
Long-term exposure illnesses like asbestos disease, occupational cancer, and job-related asthma.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Chemical Exposure at Work
