Construction Sites that are Accidents Waiting to Happen

As a construction worker, you assume a certain amount of risk every time you go to work. Even so, employers have a responsibility to make sure construction sites are as safe as possible for their employees. Unfortunately, not all sites practice proper safety protocols. Warning signs are not posted, work areas are left in disarray, safety equipment isn’t properly maintained…the list goes on. How can you tell if your workplace is safe? Let’s look at some telltale signals that your construction site may be an accident waiting to happen.

Debris, Dirt, and Obstructions in Work Areas and Walkways

Slips, trips, and falls are quite common on construction sites, and much of the time, they happen because work areas aren’t kept free of debris. Loose dirt, mud, grease, oil, standing water, and sawdust can easily make floors and stairways unnecessarily slick and dangerous.  Likewise, obstructions like plastic wrappers, loose cables, cords, and wires can become tripping hazards. If work areas aren’t kept clean, they can become prime places for injuries.

Inadequate Safety Gear

Construction companies have a responsibility to ensure their workers have the proper gear to safely perform their jobs.  When there aren’t enough hard hats, goggles, work gloves, dust masks, or safety harnesses to go around, a worker is inevitably going to be trying to do their job without proper protection, and that’s a potential recipe for disaster.

Improperly Maintained Equipment

To function safely, heavy machinery must be properly maintained. Ladders, scaffolding, and harnesses need to be inspected or replaced regularly to ensure they don’t fail when someone is using them. Job sites that cut corners on inspections and maintenance checks are far more likely to see injury accidents and fatalities than sites that regularly check their equipment.

Inadequate Training

Having all the best safety equipment on a job site is useless if the workers don’t know how to use the equipment properly. Having all the right protocols in place won’t matter if people don’t know how to practice them. If a company brings on novice workers and doesn’t make sure the workers know how to work a safety harness, keep their work area clean, or practice other safety protocols, they are essentially setting the workers up for injury.

While workers’ compensation should cover work-related injuries, workers’ compensation doesn’t exempt employers from the responsibility to maintain safe work conditions. If you’ve been injured in a workplace accident caused by negligence, especially at third-party sites, you may be eligible to hold the at-fault parties responsible through a workers compensation and /or personal injury claim. Call our offices to schedule a case review today.