A construction site has thousands of things going on at once. With the enormous machines, plenty of water, and cement all over the place, it is a potential place for accidents to happen. Additionally, the workers work at a great height by hanging on ladders and ropes, which leaves no room for mistakes, or they will land in life-threatening situations. While the workers deal with such adverse conditions to establish robust buildings, they also go through severe accidents sometimes, which can result in gruesome injuries requiring months or years to heal.
Slips and falls are pretty common in construction areas. However, falling or tripping from a height can cause construction worker to lose their life. To find out more about how you can deal with the injuries and losses from your construction accident, contact an experienced construction accident lawyer.
Common injuries sustained in a construction accident are:
1. Scarring and Burns
Among the most common workplace injuries are burns. It is because there’s a chance of fires and explosions on construction sites. These all could result in fire risks:
- dangerous chemicals,
- leaky pipes,
- exposed wires, and
- other things.
2. Head trauma:
A building site is a common place for head injuries. It occurs due to falling objects, machinery, or materials, particularly for employees excavating or building from the bottom up. These wounds could include traumatic brain injuries, concussions, head lacerations, and more. Construction workers can avoid these injuries by wearing protective gear.
3. Injury to the spinal cord:
Accidents from a scaffold, framework, or other elevated parts of the construction site are common causes of these accidents. Following spinal cord injuries:
- brain damage,
- whole or partial paralysis, and
- permanent impairment.
4. Cutting and lacerations:
The skin is frequently cut and lacerated by construction workers. It results from unkempt equipment, unattended equipment, visible nails, and other workplace dangers. These cuts and scrapes could become infections if not handled. Always wear personal protective equipment and protective gear when working in the construction industry.
5. Broken, shattered, and smashed bones:
Bones can break, fracture, or even get crushed on construction sites. These are brought on by the usage of large machines in this area of employment. Excavators, forklifts, and other large equipment could hit or crush a close worker and cause catastrophic harm if not restrained or managed.
6. Lost Limbs:
On construction sites, you can find a lot of heavy equipment. A worker’s leg, finger, or heel may be amputated if one falls on them or traps them. Surgery might be necessary to preserve the worker’s life if limbs or digits are smashed or severely damaged.
7. Loss of hearing:
One of the most frequent dangers on construction sites is hearing loss. Hearing loss can be brought on by the piercing noises of construction and heavy machinery. Workers should wear earplugs to protect their hearing when using jackhammers or other extremely noisy equipment. Imagine that workers are hit on the side of the skull or in the ear by anything or are impacted by falling debris. They can then experience either partial or total hearing loss.
8. Heat Stroke:
Construction employees are required to labor year-round, no matter the weather. Unfortunately, this could increase the risk of workplace injury for workers in extremely hot environments. Workers may have heat stroke due to excessive activity and sun exposure, especially during the hot summer.
Typical signs of heat stroke include nausea, dizziness, and, in rare cases, fainting. If a heat stroke is not addressed, it could result in death as well as damage to the kidneys, the heart, or the brain.
9. Sight loss:
Eye injuries are among the most frequent accidents on construction sites. Flying particles or chemical splashes frequently bring on vision loss. It may be more than unpleasant to sustain an eye injury. Your career may be negatively impacted. Wearing safety glasses while working near high-voltage wires and another hazardous machinery is therefore necessary.
The main reasons for eye injuries on construction sites are as follows:
- A construction site worker’s eye
- The skull or eyes could sustain blunt force injuries from falling objects.
- Chemical burns or exposure to chemicals
The most common workplace accidents that cause injuries:
Accidents can occur anywhere, at any moment. And while there are other causes of accidents, carelessness or negligence are the most frequent ones. This implies that if somebody had been cautious, they might have been avoided. In the workplace, numerous incidents have resulted in fatal construction accidents.
1. Falls and slips:
Accidents at work that involve trips, slips, and falls are among the most frequent. Additionally, it is the main reason for filing a workers’ compensation claim. This covers workers who:
2. Slipped on an icy, slick, or wet floor:
- tripped over by gaps or sides that were not covered, by a lack of lighting, or by clutter
- fallen from rooftops, construction sites, or ladders
3. Electrocution:
The following are the types of electrocution occurrences that most frequently occur at work:
- overhead power lines,
- open live wires, and
- coming into contact with electrical impulses coming from machines or power equipment.
4. Assaulted by things that fell:
Construction workers risk becoming maimed or killed by objects falling every day.
Construction workers risk breaking bones, suffering brain injuries, or even dying from falling objects when operating underneath cranes, platforms, scaffolds, or anywhere overhead work is being done.
5. Accidents caused by equipment:
Anyone who uses heavy machinery has the potential for an accident. However, the agricultural and construction machinery industries are more likely to include them. Unguarded machinery poses a risk to people’s safety.
When bodily parts are entangled in or struck by exposed moving parts or flying particles from equipment that lacks protective shielding, the results can be disastrous.
6. Burning and detonations:
Risk factors frequently start workplace fires and explosions. These include improper gas connections, combustible items that have been carelessly stored, and open fires.
7. Failure of a building or trench:
When a trench being built falls on the workers inside, it is another common construction accident. It is possible for a building that is being built or destroyed to suddenly and unexpectedly collapse. It has the power to kill or seriously hurt anyone inside.
8. Broken scaffolding:
Unquestionably, a scaffolding collapse is one of the worst accidents at any construction site. The scaffolding might collapse those standing around it or underneath it. And severe injuries might result from falls from very high altitudes. Scaffolding that has partially collapsed and instances of floorboards giving way have the potential to be fatal.
