What Are the 4 Biggest Risks for Construction Workers?

If you or a member of your immediate family pursued a career in construction, you likely understand that it is demanding and dangerous work. Working with powerful tools, heavy machinery and electricity could easily lead to someone getting hurt at work.

Federal safety statistics have pinpointed specific aspects of construction work that are responsible for the vast majority of fatal accidents and a significant number of injuries. Learning the four biggest risks at a Louisiana construction site could help people stay safer at work and recognize when they have grounds to take legal action.

What are the most pressing risks for construction workers?

Caught-between incidents

When the wall of a trench collapses with a worker present below grade, the earth that moves around them or the machinery that slides down into the trench could press them up against the opposite wall of the trench or the bottom of the trench.

Machinery could also cause caught-between incidents. These workplace accidents can cause broken bones, spinal cord injuries, internal bleeding and brain injuries. 

Struck-By Incidents

With many pieces of moving machinery comes the risk of getting hit by those materials or machines. Struck-by incidents might include when materials suspended from a crane swing and hit a worker or when someone drops a power tool several stories and strikes a co-worker.

The weight of the items that strike a worker and the worker’s position at the time of the incident will influence how severe the injuries are.

Electrocution

There are several ways that workers could suffer electrical injuries at a construction site. Those who help install electrical wiring are at high risk, as are those who work in close proximity to new wires.

People who handle power tools and also workers near a temporary source of electrical power, like a generator, could suffer an electrical injury when something shorts out or a wire frays.

Falls

Construction workers are often outside when it is windy or raining. They may work several stories off of the ground to erect a building or install a roof. Even a fall off of a one-story roof could be enough to lead to serious injuries. Falls from substantially higher may even prove fatal.

Construction workers who understand their biggest risks on the job will know when to demand safety equipment. If they do get hurt, the worker or their family members may qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. Claiming Louisiana workers’ compensation benefits can help you cover medical care expenses and also lost wages if you get hurt at your construction job.