When it comes to injury danger, you won’t find a place that’s much more prone than a construction site. The combination of heavy equipment and materials being transported and lifted high into the air over uneven terrain makes for an extremely high accident risk, and it should come as no surprise that the construction industry continually is towards the top of the leaderboard in terms of the number of injuries each year. Here are five of the top causes of construction accident injuries:
Falls
When it comes to construction accidents, falls far exceed the rest of all other types of injuries. Falls can occur in many different ways on a construction site, including slip-and-fall injuries from liquid on a smooth surface, trip-and-fall injuries from things like tripping and stumbling over an un-secured extension cord, or even falling from height, such as toppling off a ladder (or worse). These lead to all sorts of injuries with a variety of severities, which means companies should be constantly on the lookout for how to prevent them.
Caught-Between Accidents
Getting caught between two heavy objects can result in all sorts of devastating injuries. Whether it’s getting stuck between two pieces of heavy machinery, accidentally having an arm jammed beneath a pile of heavy materials, or any other similar situation, these injuries can lead to potentially disastrous consequences and catastrophic injuries.
Struck-By Accidents
With lots of equipment and things traveling around construction sites (sometimes at high speeds), struck-by accidents are also fairly common. Like their name says, these accidents are when someone is struck by another person or object, resulting in injuries. These can occur from a falling object, an object on being carried by hand, or even being struck by a car or other similar piece of machinery.
Electrocution
Construction sites need loads of different tools, ranging from welders to saws and cutters to grinders, and everything in between. That means electricity is a pretty common feature, and can be found in many surprising, and unexpected places. A severed electrical cord or accidental collision with an overhead power line could all lead to serious injuries through electrocution, especially if the person electrocuted is subjected to high voltage.
Inadequate Training
A safe construction site is one where every member of the crew has the training and knowledge they need to know how to safely handle every situation. Unfortunately, this rarely happens and many workers each year are accidentally injured because they simply didn’t have the training to handle a particular circumstance they are faced with.
Have you been injured while working on a construction site? Speak with an Austin workers’ compensation lawyer from The Stewart Law Firm, PLLC; contact us today!
