The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that during one recent year, over 9 percent of the total of more than 3 million nonfatal illnesses and injuries reported occurred to construction workers. Below are some main causes of construction injuries on the job.
- Falls from roofs, ladders, scaffolds and heavy equipment pose dangerous risks for construction workers.
- Backovers and crushing incidents are another prime cause of serious injury to those in the construction industry. Of particular risk are large trucks that back out of job sites and becoming pinned against a wall by heavy equipment.
- Falling objects from above can cause injuries ranging from a bump on the head to death. Hardhats are not sufficient protection when large, heavy tools or equipment plummet down from above.
- Explosions and fires create hazards on constructions sites and can stem from leaks, exposed wires and flammable substances that are improperly stored.
- Accidents involving heavy machinery are often fatal. Cranes that topple over or forklifts that flip and entrap workers can be deadly on the job accidents.
- Malfunctioning machinery suck as misfiring nail guns or lockout guards that don’t work can lead to serious injuries and deaths on the job.
- Trench collapses can be devastating, as can buildings collapsing during controlled demolitions.
- Respiratory diseases like lung cancer, mesothelioma, asbetosis and silicosis can all originate on a job site and prove fatal to workers, often decades after the exposure occurred.
If you have been injured on a construction job site, you have various avenues of legal recourse available to you for compensation.
Source: FindLaw, “Common Construction Injury Types,” accessed Feb. 17, 2016
