According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 991 construction workers were killed—21.1 percent of all workplace fatalities—in 2016. Many of these deaths and countless more injuries are caused when employers fail to follow workplace safety rules.
It's important to know that injured individuals and families who lost loved ones may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits under Florida law.
Construction Site Safety Violations That Lead to Fall Injuries
Falls are the leading “Fatal Four” of OSHA’s causes of deaths on construction sites, causing 384 or 38.7 percent of these fatalities. Some safety violations that lead to dangerous falls include:
- Employers' failure to provide employees with fall protection systems when they're working at heights of six feet or higher.
- Sides and leading edges left unprotected when guardrails, toeboards, and other protective systems aren't installed.
- Hoist areas becoming dangerous when guardrails aren’t utilized or workers aren't provided with fall protection systems.
- Employers' failure to cover holes, install guardrails around them, or provide fall protection equipment, causing workers to suffer life-altering injuries or death if they fall in.
- Missing fences, barricades, or guardrail systems that create dangerous conditions at excavation sites.
- Workers suffering serious injuries when they fall on construction equipment not protected by required guardrail systems.
Other Workplace Safety Violations Causing Injuries to Workers
Employers also cause many workplace accidents and injuries by failing to follow other safety guidelines. A few of these include:
- Improper ladders used for jobs or not inspected for defects before use.
- Debris, construction materials, and other objects left in stairways and walkways, causing slip and fall hazards.
- Employers' failure to install protective systems in trenches, or require workers to enter unprotected ones, risking trench collapse.
- Cranes not inspected before use, or when employers permit untrained operators to operate them.
- Employers' failure to understand the hazards of chemicals used on their construction sites and to warn employees of these dangers.
Did you suffer injuries at a construction job in the Daytona Beach area? You may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits to pay your medical bills and lost wages. To learn more about your legal rights, call our office today to schedule your free consultation.
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