Florida Construction Accidents: What are the Construction Industry’s “Fatal Four?”
Trusted Content
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 806 workers were killed in construction accidents in 2012 alone, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all of the workplace fatalities that occurred in the private industry that year.
Well over half of these fatalities were caused by four common types of accidents that some safety officials refer to as the “Fatal Four.” These types of accidents include falls, being struck by an object, electrocutions and being caught in or between various objects.
- Falls are the leading cause of construction worker fatalities by far. Of the 806 worker fatalities that were reported in 2012, 279 were caused by a fall, accounting for 34.6% of all construction worker fatalities that year.
- Being struck by an object is also one of the most common deadly accidents that occur in the construction industry. These accidents resulted in 79 deaths in 2012, accounting for 9.8% of construction fatalities.
- Electrocutions pose a serious threat to some construction workers. 66 workers lost their lives to electrocutions in 2012, which was 8.1% of all construction fatalities that year.
- Getting caught in or between objects or obstacles also poses a danger to construction workers, resulting 13 deaths in the industry in 2012.
In all too many cases, tragedy could easily have been prevented if the proper safeguards had been in place. Unfortunately, employers continue to make the mistake of placing themselves and their workers at risk by failing to meet safety standards.
According to OSHA, some of the most common violations that are cited within the construction industry involve problems with fall protection and meeting general requirements for scaffolding.
If you’ve been injured due to someone else’s reckless behavior, you may need the help of an injury law team that can stand up for your rights.
Call Abrahamson & Uiterwyk today at 1-800-538-4878 if you’ve been injured in an accident that was caused by another person’s negligent or reckless behavior.
Because of the fact that cases involving workers’ compensation injuries may be highly complex and exceedingly specific, our law firm commonly works with other law firms who have considerable experience in each particular case type. Thus, we may be referring these types of cases to a separate firm, with whom we typically associate and work with on a co-counsel basis.