More than 4,000 construction workers across the United States die at work each year, making construction work more hazardous than almost any other profession.
An even higher number of employees are injured on New Jersey construction sites each year. The vast majority of these deaths and injuries are caused by construction safety violations, which means they were preventable if OSHA regulations had been followed.
In some cases these accidents are caused by basic negligence – an oversight on the part of the construction company. But in many others they are the result of a wilful violation of legal safety requirements, or that the company is simply indifferent to the safety of its workers.
In effect, the employer cuts corners to save money and time on the construction project, putting workers at risk as a result.
The most common construction safety violations in New Jersey are as follows:
Falls – the construction company is obliged to have adequate safeguards in place to protect workers from a fall of more than six feet.
Electrocution – employees must be both properly trained and protected if they are working on or near electrical circuits on a construction site.
Struck by object – construction site owners must ensure that employees not only have access to the correct type of protective headgear, but wear it at all times.
Caught in equipment – preventative measures should be taken to ensure the construction employees don’t get caught in or between equipment, resulting in crush injuries or death.
There have been over 72,000 recorded construction site safety violations in the US since 2012. Falls make up 40% of the total number of deaths each year caused by a lack of safety standards. These types of accidents are easily preventable if safety standards are adhered to.
What’s most surprising here is that the number of violations in each category has remained almost static for the best part of a decade, which indicates an ongoing issue.
Examples of Common Injuries
This is a non-exhaustive list of injuries which can take place on a construction site with lax safety standards:
- Spinal injury
- Broken bones
- Traumatic brain injury
- Ankle, knee, shoulder or other joint injury
- Visual impairment – temporary or permanent
- Chemical burns
- Electrical burns
- Lacerations of varying degrees of severity
- Loss of a digit or limb
- Hearing impairment or permanent hearing loss
The obvious side-effects of such injuries are the medical costs required for you to receive treatment, as well as the loss of income suffered because you’re currently unable to work.
If You’ve Been Injured
Your first action should be to seek professional medical assistance, if that’s not provided for you. You will also need to keep a detailed record of the exact circumstances leading up to your injury.
You should then engage the services of a construction injury lawyer to conduct a thorough investigation of the site on your behalf, which would include getting proof that your employer has Worker’s Compensation coverage.
The reality is that your injury most likely resulted from the carelessness or negligence of your employer, and their failure to either follow or enforce adequate health and safety policies, even though they are legally obliged to do so.