What are the top 4 reasons construction workers get hurt?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) report listed struck-by-object, falls, caught-in or between injuries and electrocution as the top reasons for construction worker deaths in 2014. These “fatal four ” injuries were responsible for 58 percent of their fatalities that year.

Struck-by-object injuries

These types of incidents may occur when loads being hoisted by a crane sway or come loose. They also may happen if workers drop construction debris or tools, back up their trucks or move their heavy equipment without checking to see if anyone is below or around them. Safety equipment does little to protect them around most of the heavy machinery and building materials that workers are surrounded by.

Falls

This type of incident remains the top reason that more than 100,000 workers get injured or die each year in the United States. Occupational Safety and Health Administration data shows that these incidents often occur because employers fail to equip their workers with the necessary safety equipment such as safety nets or harnesses or hand or stair rails. Even if they do exist, workers are seldom taught how to use them appropriately in their own language.

Caught-in or between injuries

When a worker’s body parts get squeezed, caught or crushed between at least two objects on a job site, this is called a caught-in-between injury. These types of incidents can occur if building materials unexpectedly fall, if a worker is run over by a piece of equipment or if a body part gets stuck in machinery.

Workers can avoid falling victim to these type of incidents by paying more attention to what they’re doing, asking to be trained on it before using it and by keeping their hair, clothing and jewelry out of harm’s way.

Electrocutions

Occupational Safety and Health Administration data shows that as many as 4,000 construction workers are injured and 300 are killed when electrocuted each year. Investigators usually determine that most of these incidents could have been prevented has workers been given personal protective equipment (PPE) or received necessary safety training.

If these fatal four incidents could be eliminated, then an additional 500 construction workers’ lives would be saved annually. If you’ve been unfortunate enough to have been hurt or you’ve lost a loved to a welding burn, a fall from a scaffold or from exposure to industrial chemicals, then you may need a Tampa attorney to aggressively represent your interests to get you the compensation that you deserve.