According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one in five workplace deaths occurred in the construction industry in 2020. Some of the injuries proved fatal, left the victims permanently disabled or the victims incurred high medical bills and took a long time to recover due to the severity of the injuries. If you have been injured in a construction accident, you should contact a Providence construction accident lawyer as soon as possible. They can be able to advise what legal options you have to recover full and fair compensation for your injuries.
Today we will discuss which four types of construction accidents in Providence can lead to a personal injury lawsuit.
1. Electrocutions
Construction sites are full of exposed wires although electricians are more prone to electrocutions. This, however, does not mean that other construction workers are not at risk of being electrocuted. Electrocutions can be fatal or they can cause burns or falls after coming into contact with electricity.
You don’t need to come into contact with high-voltage electrical wires because being exposed to as little as 20 milliamps can cause death. If you are using metal ladders or operating a crane, you should be wary of overhead power lines. It’s possible to forget that they are there, which can easily lead to construction site injuries.
2. Falls
It’s estimated that 35% of construction worker fatalities are caused by falls. The most common causes of falls include:
- Slippery or wet floors
- Uneven or cluttered floors
- Openings on the wall or holes in the floor
- Unprotected edges
- Misused fall protection
Serious falls occur when:
- You slip and fall
- You fall from a ladder
- You fall from a high surface
- You fall of a scaffold or it collapses
3. Caught in/between
Caught in/between accounts for 4% of fatalities in construction accidents. Causes of this category of accidents include:
- Rigging accidents
- Equipment maintenance
- Unguarded parts
- Rotating equipment
- Excavation or trench collapse
Employees need to take several precautions to avoid a caught in between accident. OSHA regulates workplace safety including construction sites. In some cases, you might find that workers or construction site supervisors violated more than one regulation consequently causing an accident.
Read about OSHA regulations.
Some of the regulations that are sometimes violated include an employee handling equipment they have not been trained to use and not ensuring that the equipment controls are working properly before proceeding to operate the equipment. Sometimes employees should also use their common sense while handling equipment in order to stay and to keep other people out of harm’s way.
4. Struck By An Object
Getting struck by an object accounts for 8% of construction worker fatalities. The most common cause of this type of accident is workers getting hit by moving equipment.
OSHA has put in place safety standards for the movement of machinery in construction sites. The driver of any equipment should always do a walk around the vehicle to ensure there’s no one there and there are no objects behind it. The driver should also use a spotter while backing up.
Objects being moved by cranes or objects falling from higher floors such as scaffolds and ladders can fall and injure workers.
Hiring A Providence Construction Accident Lawyer
If you are a victim of a construction site accident in Providence, RI, you should call a construction site accident lawyer as soon as you receive medical treatment.
You can reach one of our Providence construction accident lawyers at 401-751-0101 or you can drop by any of our Providence offices for a free initial consultation.
Our lawyers at Kevin P Landry Law Offices have an excellent track record and expert knowledge of construction site injuries and we can bring you the results that you deserve.
