The construction industry is one of the most dangerous occupations to work in. It's right up there with fishing and logging as far as risk of injury is concerned.
The construction site has too many hazards to count; from untrained subcontractors to malfunctioning equipment to falls from heights, virtually anything can go wrong and workers must keep their wits about them.
According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), 4,251 people workers were killed in private industry in 2014. Of those, 874 of the workers were in construction, meaning 1 in 5 fatalities in 2014 involved construction workers.
According to OSHA, there are four leading causes of death among construction workers, including:
- Falls account for 39.9% of worker deaths
- Electrocutions account for 8.5% of deaths
- Being struck by an object accounted for 8.4% of deaths
- Being caught in or between accounted for 1.4% of deaths
OSHA says that if we can eliminate the "fatal four" listed above, over 500 workers' lives could be saved each year in the United States. But despite OSHA's efforts to improve safety, the construction site is still one of the most dangerous places to work.
Each day, OSHA cites safety violations in construction, with common violations involving fall protection, scaffolding, respiratory protection, powered industrial trucks, machine guarding, ladders, and trenches.
Compensation for Injured Construction Workers
In most states, construction workers are covered under their employer's workers' compensation insurance, but that is not necessarily the case in all states, such as Texas.
Under Texas' workers' compensation law, private employers have the choice of whether to carry workers' compensation. This means that if an employer does not carry workers' comp, they are leaving themselves open to lawsuits.
If an injured construction worker is covered by workers' compensation, he may have grounds to file a third party claim, meaning he may recover additional damages, on top of his workers' compensation claim.
Contact a personal injury attorney to learn more about filing a claim after a construction accident.