There are many significant risk factors present at a typical construction site. Heavy machinery and power tools put people at risk of traumatic injuries. Working long hours outdoors comes with its own set of safety concerns that change depending on the season.
Professionals are also vulnerable because their jobs often require that they work at an elevation or below grade. Instead of simply working at ground level, construction professionals often have to do their jobs in particularly unsafe locations.
How can the location where construction professionals do their work impact their risk of injury?
Falls are a leading cause of construction worker deaths
Construction work often requires that professionals perform complex tasks significantly above ground level. Working at an elevation is hazardous. Particularly when they do not use appropriate safety restraints, construction professionals are at risk of falling.
Construction professionals who fall can sustain career-ending or even fatal injuries. They don’t need to be 10 or 20 stories up to be at risk, either. A fall from the roof of a single-story residence can lead to tragic consequences.
Even if construction workers avoid falling or stay at the ground level, the presence of workers above them can also be a hazard. Contact with falling objects can lead to severe and fatal injuries for those below others working at an elevation.
Being below grade is also dangerous
A negative elevation or working below ground level is not much safer than working at a significant elevation. Cave-ins, accidental contact with machinery and other hazards are a concern for construction professionals working in trenches.
They can end up seriously hurt or dying because they must perform job functions below grade. They could suffer crush injuries due to moving earth or unintentional contact with heavy equipment at ground level.
There are critical safety standards that employers should observe when requiring that workers do their jobs in trenches or up on scaffolding. Workers should receive training on appropriate safety practices and access to proper gear.
When construction incidents put workers in the hospital or worse, there may be cause to seek compensation. Identifying the safety concerns that contributed to a construction incident can be the first step toward appropriate compensation when a worker gets hurt or dies because of their career.