What are Common Construction Accident Injuries?
People think of construction workers as tough and they are but they are also injured quite often. Practically speaking, getting hurt is just part of the job. Almost ten percent of the millions of workplace injuries every year happen to construction workers according to the Center for Disease Control. Somewhere around 5 percent of them experience some kind of harm especially from a fall. Reviewing every way in which they become injured would be quite voluminous; therefore, it is important to hone in on the most common kinds of injuries. Here are some of the most typical ways in which construction workers get hurt every year.
Fall Injuries
Falls are far and away the leader in construction accident injuries. They plague thousands and thousands of employees and contractors around the United States every year. It makes sense too! Everyday, construction workers use items and operate in environments that make falls if not likely at least possible-think ladders, scaffolds, beams, and others. A lot of worksite locations and job responsibilities combine to create a dangerous environment and not improbably many workers fall from that environment.
Falling Items
The compliment to worker falls in construction sites is falling items. Workers on construction sites face a great danger of being injured from a piece of equipment or other object falling from above them and hitting them. In fact, this kind of injuries occurs all the time in workplace situations. Not only that, it results in significant and varied harms to workers. This might be why many employers require hardhats on certain premises but I can assure you that others do not and even if they did, it would not stop all injuries from falling items.
Equipment Injuries
We often hear the rumble and shrieks of large equipment well before we see it. It is the tool of modern industry and it brings with it significant injuries and even deaths. Sometimes they are caused by equipment fails. Other times, they arise out of employee mismanagement of the device. In certain instances, they can even be triggered through the combination of other instruments or objects. In whatever case, equipment injuries are normally very serious and can lead to legal liability for many parties including the employer and the equipment manufacturer.
Fire Injuries
While these may not flare up as much as other workplace incidents, they are still extremely serious when they occur. This is true because they can harm workers in many ways: burns, smoke inhalation, physical injuries from jumping, and even death. It is not harm to imagine how they start either. Construction sites typically contain a potent mixture of chemicals, explosives, and traffic- all of which can and frequently does add together to cause a fire.
Collapsing Injuries
One variant of construction accident happens when buildings, trenches, scaffolds, or other things collapse and harm the worker. These are quite often fatal and at the very least catastrophically injure the person working. Many times the problem is that the managers and employers cannot foresee the zone of danger when they are taking actions like demolishing buildings ; therefore, they do not warn unsuspecting workers. However, this does not remove the employers from responsibility if their workers are harmed by the collapse.
Crushed Injuries
Construction worksites can be some of the most loud, fastest-moving, and chaotic places to work at or even visit. It is no surprise then that some workers do not see equipment or vehicles heading their way. This leads to many incidents including workers getting crushed and stuck between items. All of them normally come with extensive injuries and monetary losses to the employee.
Repetitive Injuries
Due to the emergence of novel issues like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, repetitive motion injuries have gained more prominence and concern across the workplace landscape, especially in construction zones. In fact, the extreme stress and work of construction work makes its employees even more vulnerable to these kinds of injuries so it is important for them to be on the lookout for this possibility.
Obviously, these do not encompass every construction accident injury and they should be tailored to the exact type of work environment but they do cover the broad range of common problems. Other frequent and serious issues facing construction workers include the following:
- Heat exposure
- Chemical exposure
- Frostbite
- Co-worker misconduct
- Asbestos
- Respiratory and organ failures
Want To Know More About The Consequences Of Construction Accidents?
Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC helps construction accident victims get the compensation that they deserve. Part of this mission includes showing them just where and how they could have been injured if they don't realize it for themselves. Then, once they have, we work with them to file for recovery in court on contingency so that they don't have to pay for our services until they are satisfied with the award or settlement. We can help you too. Just call Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC to find out how.