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What Are Your Options After a Landscaping Injury?

Getting hurt in the workplace is never easy to handle, and this is especially true if you are working in the landscape area or in the construction and warehouse environment.

There are many tools, tasks, and substances that you will have to work with to get the job done. These jobs, although paying very well, are also some of the riskiest jobs that you will come across.

The warehouse and farming workplace injuries are some of the most dangerous jobs.

However, there are many manuals that every worker should follow and abide by to reduce the number of injuries in the workplace.

With this said, there are still injuries, unfortunately, and when a worker is injured on the job, there are certain things that can do to be compensated for the injury they may have received.

In this article, we will g over a few of the risks you may want to be aware of and explain what you can do if you are the person who has been inured.

If you would like to learn more about the workplace compensation plan or anything else that resides in legal parameters, feel free to reach put to Douglas Healy to learn more.

Now, let is dive into this article, shall we?

What Are Your Options After a Landscaping Injury?

What Are Some Of The Landscaping Risk?

Listed below are a few risk, NOT ALL THE RISK, that you may find working in the landscape business.

Transportation-related Risk

When working on the landscape, because you need to get around large areas and work in large areas, the transportation vehicles you will be operating are mowers and tractors. These vehicles can, if not checked or managed correctly, lead to someone being run over or injured.

Jackknife injuries are not as uncommon as you may think they are, especially in the landscape industry.

Coming In Contact With Dangerous Equipment

These are risks and injuries that may occur when a worker is struck with a piece of equipment. As we have already mentioned, workers could potentially be run over with tractors or mowers.

Workplace Fall

Workplace falls are some of the most common injuries in industries such as these. Falling off of ladders or from high spots can cause severe injuries. Falls are some of the leading injuries in workplace injury stats and reports.

Exposure To Dangerous Chemicals, Extreme Temperatures, and Electrical Currents

According to the BLS, around 20% of accidents and deaths in the workplace is due to dangerous substances/chemicals. Being electrocuted is a huge risk for people who work in landscaping, warehouse, labor, and/or anything that requires people working with their hands.

What Are Your Options After a Landscaping Injury?

Some of the things you will be able to do, of you, have been injured at work are listed below. You may also want to consider hiring a lawyer for this whole process so that you can make things much easier on your end.

You Can Make a Worker’s Compensation Claim

The first thing you can do is to file for a worker’s compensation claim. After you have been injured, the best thing to do is to take photos of what happened, say NOTHING to anyone, and remain calm.

The photos of the environment and the equipment/tool will be great for evidence. And this is especially useful as it will show that you were not in the wrong of at fault.

Pictures and videos will be very important in helping you to win and receive as much as you can in your file for workers’ compensation.

The more you can show and prove, the easier it will be for your lawyer n you to win the case/dispute.

Sue A Third Party For The Injury

The other option is to sue someone through a third party. If you can show that the injury you received at work was through negligence or even with some time of hostility, you will be able to bring that party to court and sue them for the injury they have caused you.

We have all had to work with one toxic co-worker before and it is not uncommon for them to try and set someone up to get hurt.

Want To Learn More?

If you have been injured in the workplace and would like to learn more, feel free to check out Douglas Healy in the link provided above

Posted on January 17, 2020 by , Reply

White Mountain Partners Landscaping Shares How to Tackle Your First Front Yard Landscaping Project

Jumping into something without doing your homework can be incredibly detrimental. You may find yourself hitting a wall and becoming frustrated by your lack of knowledge. Wanting to start big will only burn you out faster. Fortunately, White Mountain Partners Landscaping has some information that will help you landscape your yard in an easy manner. Let’s take a closer look at some important aspects that you should consider before tackling your first front yard landscaping project.

What Does Your Yard Need?

This should be the first question that anyone asks themselves before they begin landscaping. What goals do you have in mind that you want to achieve? What features are you trying to put into your yard? All of this information will help you solidify a vision before just aimlessly hacking away at your yard. Take a moment to sit down and brainstorm everything that you want to accomplish.

How Does The Environment Effect Your yard?

People from different regions in the country will have an easier time growing certain plants than others. Factors like these will end up influencing your decision to landscape your yard. Does the sunset in a specific direction on your yard every evening? How hot does it get during the summertime? Are there any wind patterns that you need to take note of? All of these factors should influence your decision-making process whenever it comes to landscaping.

Study Your Yard

Our previous tip should heavily influence this one. You need to be able to spend some time in your yard to truly study it. Don’t rush into a landscaping project without actually studying your yard. Everyone’s yard has a unique personality to it that makes it shine in a special way. Studying your yard and playing on its strengths will help you make the most out of your landscaping project.

Keep it Simple

Many people want to end up creating the Taj Mahal in their yard. They have all of these grandiose ideas and very little understanding of how to accomplish them. This is why it is important to start small. You will gain more skills the more than you practice.

Keep Your Mind Open

This is an incredibly important tip that everyone needs to hear. We have an idea in our heads of how things should go. Unfortunately, reality will dictate what we can actually accomplish. Having incredibly high expectations will only set you up for failure. This is why you want to keep your mind open to alternative ideas that may be more effective. Being rigid on a decision will only end up hurting you in the long run.

What is Your Yard’s Focus?

Every yeard needs to have some kind of a rallying point. Whether it is a well or a gazebo, something needs to be the focal point of your yard. Take some time to figure out what kind of focal point you want to place into your yard. It needs to be something that meshes well with the overall theme that you are trying to go for. Having a focal point will direct people’s attention to the area that you want them to look at

Posted on November 22, 2019 by , Reply

Keel Associates Discusses How to Get Your Landscaping Business Out of Debt

SmallBusiness.com cited an Experian study of small business owners in America. Experian found that the average debt held by business owners was $195,000. Getting a loan was more difficult for small business owners in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Nerdwallet reported that many startups and other small businesses got off the ground or stayed afloat with either personal or business credit card debt.

The Problem –

According to The Balance Small Business, using a personal credit card to fund your small business risks your personal credit score as well. Also, Forbes reported that, even when a small business owner is using a business credit card, they likely signed a clause in the contract that allows the credit card company to go after the debt personally. The clause is called a “personal liability clause.” Thus, even if you close your business, you will still be personally liable to the credit card issuer for the debt on the business credit card.

Forbes also reported that these small business credit cards, like the consumer cards, carry interest rates that are often over 15 percent. If one has racked up considerable debt on these cards, it gets really hard to pay them down because you are mostly servicing the interest. This can choke off your cash flow and potentially harm your ability to get credit from your suppliers if you begin to miss payments.

Keel Associates recommends businesses laboring under debt take some quick and decisive steps to get their businesses back on keel financially.

Carefully Look at Your Budget –

Hammer out a budget with income and expenses. There are a number of apps that make the budgeting process easier for small business owners. Will you be able to pay down the debt at your present income level?

Increase Income –

Besides your current clients, have you considered some of the new companies that have sprung up in the past several years that connect you with new clients? According to Lawn and Landscape, companies such as Lawn Love, Cuttly, Green Pal and Mowdo are fighting to be the Uber of landscaping. These companies may not allow you to earn as much per job, so this tactic may be for a temporary boost in income only.

USA Today suggests shortening payment terms with clients. For example, can you provide a small discount for customers who pay on site or the same day?

Decrease Expenses –

Are there expenses that you can temporarily terminate until the debt is paid off? Or, can you get gasoline cheaper by working with a commercial fuel supplier? Even though you would hate to do it, is it possible that you need to terminate one employee?

Pay Down the Highest Interest Debt First –

In order to get your debt-paying efforts in full swing, pay the minimum on all the debts but the one with the highest interest rate. Pay as much as you can towards the high-rate card until it is paid in full. Then, you will have more money freed up to tackle the other debts.

If you have done as much of the above as possible and still are struggling to pay the business debt, consider the following:

Get a zero-interest rate balance transfer card: If you could pay off the debt in the 12 to 18 months at zero interest, a business balance transfer credit card might be a good idea.

Get a debt consolidation loan: If you have more debt than you can reasonably pay off in a year or so, a debt consolidation loan will provide you one payment each month to make on the debt, often at a more attractive interest rate. This system helps create an end-game for the debt. Credit cards just seem to never get paid off at their current rates.

If your landscaping business is struggling due to debt, call us at Keel Associates. We are experts and have solutions to business and consumer debt issues

Posted on August 25, 2019 by , Reply

Rocco Basile On Benefits Of Landscaping For Businesses

With over two decades in the construction and real estate development industries, Rocco Basile leveraged his experience as manager of Basile Builders Group, and is now the director of Avo Construction. He offers insight on the benefits of landscaping for businesses.

Designing the exterior of a building is as important as creating a beautiful interior space. In both areas, the landscaper, architect or interior designer focuses on creating a comfortable environment for the dweller. Landscape designing is ideal for areas outside a home. You can include a rock garden, plant some Cheryl Laurel or pave your entryway with cultured slabs. It’s up to you to come up with a landscape design that will add aesthetic value.

Apart from landscaping your home, it’s also a good idea to landscape the area outside your business premises. Be sure to combine culture and nature. This way, you’ll achieve a well-designed exterior space that attracts the eye of everyone visiting your office. Here are a few benefits of proper landscaping for businesses.

Market Value

The value of property appreciates with time. The features and functionality of a building affect the market value of commercial spaces. Attractive exteriors are likely to increase the value of your workspace. It’s important, therefore, to ensure you hire a reputable professional to help you with landscaping. With proper landscaping, you’ll stay ahead of your competition as the exterior space will attract more customers. This can increase the revenue in the long run.

Environmental Friendliness

Ensuring ecological health and balance is everyone’s responsibility. Considering the impact of our actions on the environment is vital. Sometimes, human activities may harm the environment. Landscaping allows us to create a safe environment. The majority of landscapers incorporate flora in their designs. This is usually a way of bringing nature closer to the dweller. A well-manicured landscape would discourage your clients and employees from littering the compound. It would evoke a sense of responsibility in everyone entering or leaving your landscape.

Physical Attraction

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of aesthetics in business. Every aspect of your business operation should attract the attention of your clients. Naturally, human beings appreciate good-looking stuff. Landscaping enables you to add aesthetic value to your office. Most people judge the capability of a company based on small details, including the neatness of the outdoor spaces. When you have an attractive exterior space, you client will assume that everything about your business is great.

Security

Various components make up healthy landscapes. These features may be functional, aesthetic or both. For instance, hedges may act as decorative pieces and security features, as they’ll keep away intruders. When landscaping your business, professional landscapers will incorporate lights, plants and other materials that will protect your business. Consequently, your employees will feel safe working at your company.

Productivity

The performance of workers depends on many things, which can be physical or psychological. People tend to work better in natural environments, as they feel comfortable. Landscaping offers your business a peaceful environment that motivates your employees to produce better results.

A Better Neighborhood

When you make great outdoors for your company, you might motivate your neighbors to do the same. This will improve the appearance of your surrounding area. More people will be attracted to the area, and this may attract more clients to your business.

Posted on June 13, 2017 by , Reply

How Adding a Compost Bin Can Benefit Landscaping Efforts

There are many misconceptions about composting that have led people to avoid taking advantage of one of the most beneficial yard-beautification practices available. For landscaping purposes, rich compost represents an excellent source of nutrients for plants and serves as the kind of natural slow-release fertilizer that consistently yields beautiful flowers and shrubs, not to mention the incredibly positive impact it has on a vegetable garden.

Composting is also an excellent way to reduce household waste, as sending organic material to the landfill is a wasteful practice that is also quite harmful to the environment. Instead of the organic material decomposing into a rich soil suitable for supporting the plant life frequently featured in landscaping, the waste in unable to decompose in the landfill and instead contributes to the harmful emission of methane gas.

Of course, many people are well aware of the positive aspects of composting but avoid utilizing it due to misinformation regarding the process. It is fairly common to hear homeowners express concern over attracting pests or creating a foul-smelling compost pile that is offensive to neighbors and makes the home’s exterior a less welcoming environment in which to relax. These concerns are completely unwarranted, as a properly maintained compost pile will not result in either of the aforementioned circumstances.

Kion Kashefi, a longtime proponent of composting, uses his pile to create an ideal soil amendment for his vegetable garden and an excellent fertilizer for the many flowerbeds that dot the landscape of his home. Initially, he expressed similar concerns about attracting pests, but he quickly learned that it was quite easy to keep burrowing animals away by cutting some chicken wire to affix to the bottom of his compost bin. As for the smells produced by the pile, Kashefi recommends being careful regarding what goes into the pile, saying that dairy and meat products are the only organic materials he avoids using for this reason. As a result, his compost pile only produces a sweet scent that he rarely notices unless he is actively turning the pile.

Posted on December 4, 2015 by , Reply

Unique Landscaping Strategies Have Benefits Beyond Aesthetics

When most homeowners, businesses and cities make choices regarding landscape design, the prime concern most often relates to appearance. After all, professional landscape design can accomplish a great deal in terms of improving the natural beauty of any location, but most people do not realize how landscaping can be used for other purposes as well. With a shrewd landscaper who understands the specific goals desired by their client, flowers, shrubs and trees can be used to achieve many surprising outcomes. Sebastian Hirsch recognized this potential many years ago, and he recently detailed some of the more interesting ways landscaping has been used.

Pest Control

Every gardener has very likely dealt with the scourge of pests, and many try a variety of methods to control these pests with varying degrees of success. When oils and insecticidal soaps do not work, many are tempted to turn to chemicals despite a clear desire to avoid such products. Those who are against these chemicals may abandon their garden altogether, instead opting to destroy their flowers, fruits and vegetables when they feel they have no other option.

What many gardeners do not realize is that landscape design can conquer pests without any need for pest control products. Landscapers can arrange plantings in such a way that the most destructive pests are repelled naturally, with one example being the use of marigolds as a border surrounding a vegetable garden. Since the pests are repelled by the plantings arranged by landscapers, there is no need to use any chemicals for pest control purposes.

Road Safety

There are several ways in which landscape design can contribute to road safety, and the most obvious method relates to simple maintenance. It is all too often the case that a city or local government will plant trees and shrubs to beautify the roadside but will also fail to properly maintain their plantings so they do not obstruct the view of drivers. It should be obvious that safety should be the paramount concern of a local government, but it is still common for drivers to be frustrated by an inability to clearly see oncoming traffic due to improperly maintained plantings.

Instead of using plantings to beautify the roadways, cities should consider using these plantings to delineate areas designated for a specific use. Bike lanes, for example, are often only identifiable by road markings that are not exactly easily recognized by drivers, creating unsafe conditions for cyclists. By using a hedge or some other planting as a barrier, cities can ensure that drivers recognize the bike lane while also beautifying the city’s roadways.

Posted on October 8, 2015 by , Reply

Landscaping as a Means of Enhancing Property Value

There are a lot of misconceptions regarding the manner in which landscaping affects the property value of a home. Citing the value of enhanced curb appeal, many real estate agents will recommend making a big investment in landscaping and often mention that the best way to enhance the perceived value of the home is to add a variety of landscaped areas throughout the property.

Others note that prospective homeowners actually want the opposite, as several landscaped areas will require more time and effort to maintain than a minimally landscaped area. While opinions tend to differ, the Ian Leaf Corporation has offered some insight into enhancing the value of the property with both types of prospective homeowners in mind.

In order to enhance the value of a property through landscaping, the best strategy is to combine elements of both desired outcomes. Some prospective homeowners associate many landscaped areas with enhanced value while others associate it with work, so how can landscaping possibly be used to meet the needs of both? The answer lies in the type of landscaping that is employed.

This strategy will feature many different landscaped areas that require very little upkeep on the part of the homeowner. Using drought-tolerant plants and local shrubs and trees, the landscaped areas do not need much in the way of watering, fertilizing or pest control. Since they are native to the area in which they are planted they are adapted to the soil conditions and the amount of precipitation, ensuring that they continue to thrive without much intervention at all.

The mistake that some homeowners make is in choosing plants that need a great deal of attention to thrive. This is the case with some of the flowers most often associated with beautiful blooms like roses or hibiscus, as both require a great deal of care, attention and expertise. Caring for these plants can be an incredibly frustrating experience for someone who is not familiar with gardening and even experienced gardeners struggle with rose bushes on occasion.

When preparing a home for sale, landscaping can indeed be used to improve the value of the property but only if low-maintenance plantings are used. These plants will appeal to those who do not want to spend every weekend working in the garden as well as those who want nothing more than to spend every morning digging in the dirt to add new plants to care for on a daily basis.

Posted on October 8, 2015 by , Reply

What is Curb Appeal?

What exactly is curb appeal?  I think that curb appeal is in the eye of the beholder.  imagesPV21WJND images7WB8HWLCThe real trick is to landscape the front of your home to appeal to the most people.  That means that those pink flamingos have to go.  The best way to look at it is you want the house to be what the masses want.  The object of curb appeal is to draw in the buyers for a quick sale.  Some people will drive right by those pink flamingos.  Tim DeCapua is a landscape expert and would never forget to remove the flamingos. Hang in there and you will get it done.

Posted on June 18, 2015 by , Reply

Landscape Dreams

When I get involved in a landscape plan I dream about it every night until I get it going.  Once its going I lay awake at night going over the work for the next day.  I stress over every detailimagesHMS5TKAL imagesXY10SEDM and cant slow down until we have completed.  I would never survive in the landscaping business as it would worry me to death. The jobs would follow me home and keep me up all night.  Kim Bettasso is a landscape planner and can be very meticulous. The more you fret over the details the more you need to get organized.

Posted on May 28, 2015 by , Reply

Landscape Problems

untitled (190) imagesG7132AUBThe landscape that slopes toward the house will cause you problems.  If the rain has no where to go but through the louse you will get flooded.  These kind of landscaping errors can be very costly to fix.  Trenching in a drain line is a possible way to redirect the water but the best fix would be to grade the yard to slope slightly away from the house.  Jody Rookstool is a good planner of landscape and would never make this problem. The flooded house will make you sorry about the landscape poorly planned.  If you need help planning it is best to get that advise before you place the house.

Posted on May 21, 2015 by , Reply
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