There are all sorts of dangers that construction workers can face on the job. Some are more significant than others. Indeed, the federal government has been tracking such things for some time and has been able to clearly identify the types of construction site issues that are responsible for the greatest number of deaths in the industry.
Considering that construction work goes on all year round here in California, we figure this is something that everyone can stand to benefit from. Whether you are the owner and operator of a construction company or a worker on the job, the data suggests that the responsibility for safety falls on everyone.
Where responsibilities are believed to have gone unmet, legal claims and disputes tend to follow, requiring the skills of an attorney with broad, deep experience in the construction industry.
So what types of accidents are of the greatest concern? Experts with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration say there are four that stand out from the rest for causing deaths. They are:
- Electrical shocks
- Workers being struck by objects
- Workers becoming trapped between objects
- Falls
According to OSHA, of the more than 3,900 worker deaths in private industry in 2013, about 20 percent occurred in the construction trades. And the four types of accidents listed above were responsible for nearly 59 percent of those deaths.
As a result of the research, OSHA has focused on beefing up education through its Construction Focus Four Training. As the program’s documentation explains, the objective is to help workers and their employers in the industry identify the sources of major hazards and avoid them.
With the new year on the horizon, might it be time for all the players in construction to make enhancing safety a resolution?