(Newswire.net — May 1, 2022) — Construction accidents are the most common type of work-related accidents. They happen when a construction worker is injured or killed on the job. The field is so dangerous because you often work with heavy materials and do tasks that require a lot of physical labor.
Construction workers also face higher levels of risk due to their proximity to heavy equipment and machinery, heights, and confined spaces.
A Statistical Overview of Construction Accidents
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicated that the number of fatalities at construction sites increased by 5% between 2018 and 2019 to reach 1,061 deaths. In 2019, 5,133 construction workers died on the job.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are around 150,000 construction site accidents each year. According to the BLS, although falls account for most construction site injuries, employees are also often injured by equipment.
Seeking Compensation for Injuries
In most cases, an employee may receive benefits via the workers’ compensation system if they are injured on the job. When pursuing compensation in case of an accident while working at a construction site, an Olive Branch construction accident lawyer will fight for your rights and argue on your behalf.
Insurance companies may attempt to settle a lawsuit for less than it is worth to save money. Your attorney will seek to ensure that the losses you have experienced are adequately compensated in your settlement.
The Main Dangers of a Construction Site
According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), one in every five workers dies at a construction site due to accidents. Construction is a dangerous profession. Construction workers are at high risk of accidents, injuries, and fatalities.
The main dangers of construction sites include:
Falls From Heights
Falls are one of the most dangerous types of construction accidents. Working at high elevations is common in the field. Falls may happen for various reasons, but the most common cause is a worker misjudging their surroundings or walking into an unprotected area without realizing it. Death is a common outcome of falls from extreme heights.
Struck by Objects, Equipment, or Materials in Motion
Workers can get trapped between two hazards, such as two pieces of heavy equipment, or get wedged between heavy equipment and another immovable object, resulting in severe or fatal incidents.
Cave-ins, equipment rollovers, collapses, and becoming trapped in a machine’s moving components are all caught-in-between incidents. They are highly deadly because body parts might be crushed, squeezed, or dismembered in these events.
Electrocution or Electrocautery Injury
Accidents involving electrocution may be fatal for construction workers. An electrical accident occurs when a person or piece of equipment comes into contact with a live electrical source, such as a power line.
Because the source of electricity might have been overhead or underground power lines, the afflicted individual is often ignorant of the circumstance.
Safety Precautions
Construction sites are inherently dangerous places. It is not uncommon for accidents to happen and people to suffer injuries. These tips will help you stay safe and avoid being one of the victims:
- Wear all the necessary protective gear
- Get a buddy system in place so that someone is watching your back at all times
- Take a break after every two hours of work and drink plenty of water
- Make sure you keep your site clean to avoid slips and falls
- Inspect the site before starting work, and look for any potential hazards
Construction sites are dangerous places to be and this is why safety precautions are important. Construction workers should always wear their hard hats, use safety harnesses, and follow all the safety rules.
They should not be more than 10 feet away from anything that could fall on them, such as bricks or steel rods. Workers should also have goggles on to protect their eyes and not wear loose clothing.
Be Prepared
It is vital to respect all safety precautions in the construction industry. Nevertheless, accidents are unavoidable sometimes. If you got hurt on the job, a lawyer can help you receive fair compensation for your injury.
With a BA in communications and paralegal experience, Irma C. Dengler decided to make the best of her writing skills. She decided to turn complicated legal matters into something more
palatable for the masses. Therefore, Irma became a law communicator who writes about everyday problems so everyone can understand them and take the appropriate action. She specialized in personal injury cases, as they are more common than anyone thinks, but her areas of expertise also include civil law, criminal law, insurance-related issues, and more.