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What Types Of Accidents Occur Most Often At Construction Sites?

Construction accidents lead to very serious injuries requiring substantial medical treatment, rehabilitation, and ongoing care. According to the National Safety Council, the annual cost of workplace injuries is an astounding $198 billion. The most common injury causes include:

Falls from Elevation. Falls are the number one type of accident experienced on construction sites and account for 40% of all construction accident injuries. Falls are also the second costliest construction injury. Typically, falls occur from unsecured ladders, collapsing ladders, concrete forms, scaffolding, movable platforms, collapsing surfaces, ramps, unprotected floor openings, and wall openings or unprotected building edges. Oregon and US OSHA regulations clearly establish the employer’s responsibility to ensure that all construction walking or working surfaces have the structural integrity to support employees safely and that employees are protected from falling through holes or falling from edges that are under construction.

Electrical Shock. Typically, electrical shocks occur when safety procedures or practices are bypassed. These can be caused by poor installation practices such as failing to ground equipment, bypassing safety interlocks, or not using proper Lock-Out-Tag-Out (LOTO) procedures. In addition, many electrocutions are the secondary result of other accidents such as a crane striking high voltage power lines, or a truck backing into an electrical transformer.

Struck by Object. Another major cause of construction injuries results from workers being hit by moving objects. Workers can be hit by falling objects such as tools, discarded material, or unsecured construction materials; by moving equipment such as cars, trucks, cranes, construction elevators, or forklift trucks; or by equipment under high pressure such as hydraulic hoses, and pumping equipment.

Caught-in or Between. Crushing injuries are frequently the result of a worker being caught in or between moving equipment and a fixed barrier. Typical crushing accidents occur as a result of operators carelessly moving equipment and crushing a worker in the process. Crushing injuries are one of the costliest types of injury.

Powered Industrial Truck Injuries. Each year OSHA statistics chronical over 34,900 serious injuries from powered industrial trucks (forklifts, front end loaders, etc.). Typical injuries arise from rollover accidents, striking other workers, or dropping loads on other workers. These accidents produce crushing injuries, broken bones, fractured bones, and even wrongful death.

Machine or Equipment Failure. Equipment failures cause many types of injuries that result in very serious injury or death. For example, a hoisting sling breaks or becomes unstable dumping material on workers; a crane cable breaks causing the load or crane to fall; a high-pressure tank ruptures because of operator error or faulty safety shut-offs.

Thermal and Chemical Burns. Burns are very serious injuries that may require a lifetime of medical treatment and therapy. Employers in construction environments are responsible to provide specific safety procedures and training, personal protective equipment, and general fire safety equipment in order to provide a safe workplace. In spite of these actions, thousands of construction fires occur annually. When burn accidents occur they are usually the result of improper handling or storage of flammable materials and caustic chemicals, such as cleaners, solvents, and adhesives, in an environment of grinders, blowtorches, welding, and propane heaters. The severity of burn injuries can be intensified by the lack of general safety equipment such as eyewash stations, deluge stations, or proper fire extinguishers. Chemical burns are especially dangerous because they can injure or completely damage the eyes, lungs, and face.

Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation and case evaluation. At Mayor Law, LLC, we understand the legal implications of a construction injury lawsuit.  More importantly, we understand your family’s anxiety, anger, and pain. We use our experience, knowledge, and resources to build a strong case and secure the compensation you need to overcome the injury for potentially years to come.