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Construction work is responsible for a high percentage of industrial fatalities in the U.S. every year. Injuries abound across the board on expansive commercial projects and small, one-person job sites. On big jobs with a full-time safety manager on duty, accidents still happen. In other cases, construction workers on smaller jobs may work alone, which significantly increases the risk of accidents and injuries.

Construction jobs face the same hazards. Construction industry employers have a duty to protect their employees from workplace dangers. Safety managers and job supervisors must always keep safety a top priority. The following are the top reasons safety should remain a concern for construction employers.

Construction Dangers

While all industries experience worker injuries, construction jobs involve working in especially dangerous circumstances. Sometimes the situation is so extreme it can result in the death of a worker. Many of the deadly injuries suffered by construction workers include one of the Fatal Four, which includes deadly falls, being struck by an object, electrocution, and incidents involving workers being caught or crushed by heavy machinery.

While having appropriate personal protective equipment is essential in many construction applications, it can be dangerous for employers to assume that making safety goggles and hard hats available is good enough. Training is crucial. Workers need to know how to utilize safety equipment, as well as the tools and machinery to do their jobs. They also must be vigilant about ensuring that workers are practicing good safety habits on the job.

Response Times

Safety protocols save lives. When accidents happen, employers must have procedures in place to react and save workers from further injury, or to intervene to keep injuries from becoming fatal. Some of the most dangerous construction jobs involve lone workers on remote worksites. Construction jobs involve many hazards, but when construction workers are working alone, the dangers are increased because there is no one around to help if something goes wrong.

Safety recommendations for lone workers include regular check-ins with supervisors and wearable panic buttons. There are even certain wearables that sense when a worker has been motionless for an extended period, indicating they may have been knocked unconscious or otherwise immobilized, at which point the system will notify the job supervisor.

Liability Issues

It is an employer’s duty to ensure that workers have the proper training, necessary equipment, and safety policies in place to perform their jobs without undue hazards or obvious potential for harm. If not, the business could be liable for injuries. Safety violations can be much more costly to a business than implementing proper precautions to avoid the work accident in the first place.

Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation Lawyers at Gross & Kenny, LLP Represent Injured Construction Workers

Construction work is fraught with many dangers. If you were injured on a construction site, the Philadelphia Workers’ Compensation lawyers at Gross & Kenny, LLP can help you obtain the benefits you need for medical bills related to your injuries, as well as other possible compensation settlements. Contact us online or call us at 215-512-1500 to schedule a free case evaluation. Located in Philadelphia, we represent injured workers throughout Pennsylvania.