Construction Accidents
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 88 workers a week are killed in the United States while on the job, or about 12 per day. They also found that the industry where the most worker fatalities happen is in construction. And this doesn’t even account for the thousands of on the job injuries suffered by construction workers every year.
Construction Accidents Causes
The Federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has a list of construction’s “fatal four,” the elimination of which would save an estimated 478 lives every year. For 2013, these fatal four accounted for 57.7 percent of all construction accidents that ended in fatalities. In order of severity, they are:
- Falls – Workers falling anywhere from a few feet to several stories as the result of faulty stairs, scaffolding, railways, missing rails, and other causes accounted for 302 deaths in 2013.
- Struck by an object – Workers who were struck by objects such as power tools, vehicles, equipment, where items were dropped on to them, and other causes accounted for 84 deaths in 2013.
- Electrocutions – Workers killed when an electrical system is improperly maintained, not installed correctly, where water hazards are allowed to collect, when vehicles collide with power lines, and other causes accounted for 71 deaths in 2013.
- Caught in between – Workers killed when they are struck by moving equipment and caught against a wall, the ground, another vehicle, or another piece of equipment accounted for 21 deaths in 2013.
OSHA put out a top ten list of most frequently cited standards in the workplace, and citations related to fall protection in the construction industry ranked as number one. These standards assure that the employer must provide adequate protection for their workers that includes but is not limited to:
- Employers must determine if the walking and working surfaces on which employees work have the strength and structural integrity to support them. Employees may work on them only when the surfaces have proven they have met these criteria.
- Each walking and working surface – whether they be horizontal or vertical – with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet or more above a lower level must be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems.
- Each worker in a hoist area must be protected from falling 6 feet or more to lower levels by a guardrail system or personal fall arrest system.
Construction Accident Injuries
When employers fail to meet these and other safety standards, it often results in serious worker injuries. Workers injured on the job can sustain any number of injuries including broken bones, burns, bruises, neck trauma, back injuries, head trauma, paralysis, and others.
When injuries do happen, it is common for employers to deny culpability, offer a low settlement if they offer one at all, or try to settle the matter via a worker’s compensation plan. However, the injured worker may find that the settlement does not cover their medical bills, lost wages, and other costs.
Construction Accident Attorney
If you or someone you know has been hurt or killed in a construction accident, you have a limited time to act. Contact us immediately at no cost to you so we can help you learn your rights when dealing with an employer.
