Your job in construction is a dangerous one, as you well know. Whether you are improving our Pennsylvania highways or constructing houses or commercial buildings, you face hazards each day on the job. You might carefully observe every safety measure, but you will not always be able to prevent all accidents. Here, we discuss some of the most common ways you might get hurt in the construction industry.
Some construction accidents are difficult to prevent or foresee, such as a machinery malfunction or unexpected failure of safety equipment. Other accidents may happen when a worker is careless or if your employer fails to train you or provide the equipment necessary to prevent injuries. There are numerous safety standards that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has enacted for the construction industry, but employees and companies do not always observe them, resulting in hundreds of deaths or injuries in the industry each year.
Some of the most common safety violations include the following:
- Falls, especially from scaffolding or unprotected heights
- Objects striking workers
- Workers caught in or between an object
- Electrocution
You may already know that these accident types are so common that people in the construction industry call them the “fatal four.” They make up 21.4 percent of all fatal workplace accidents and were responsible for 937 deaths in construction in 2015 – the fatal four caused 64.2 percent of construction worker deaths that year.
You may improve your chances of safety each day by observing safety measures and participating in training courses that keep you up to date on the latest procedures and protocols for your line of work. Your precautions cannot force others to do the same, and realizing this might also keep you safe. You may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits after a construction accident, regardless of who or what was at fault.
