The causes of accidents in construction include negligence, human error, and mechanical failure. Although factors like inclement weather and other unforeseen issues can also cause construction accidents, many accidents are caused by human negligence or someone’s failure to do their job.
Whether that failure was something as drastic as forgetting to secure a scaffold, or something as seemingly minor as not cleaning up a coffee spill, these acts of negligence can have serious repercussions in such a dangerous environment.
Other causes of construction accidents can include:
- Defective products, including faulty machine parts, malfunctioning electronics, dangerous pesticides, and more
- Slick surfaces, unsecured cords, or improper building techniques, resulting in slip and fall or trip and fall cases
- A disconnect between management and employees, resulting in confusion about job duties or miscommunications
- Contractors wandering around the job site literally “getting in the way,” and unsafely interfering with job duties
- Working long hours without proper breaks, causing employees to make errors in judgment due to exhaustion
- Property owners failing to deliver a reasonably safe environment
- The failure to adequately train workers before allowing them to operate heavy machinery
- The use of cost-cutting techniques that reduce safety measures or result in the use of low-quality products
- And more
- Frequent Types of Construction Accidents
- Violations that Commonly Occur on Construction Sites
- Damages in a Construction Accident Injury Settlement
- Construction Accident Lawyers Ready to Help You
Frequent Types of Construction Accidents
While minor accidents like stepping on nails, tool malfunctions, and exposure to hot machinery cause many injuries on construction sites, these incidents may result in minor injuries such as simple bruises, scrapes, and minor burns.
As for the most serious injuries, they often involve falls or being hit by objects. Sadly, in most cases, these incidents occur due to poor safety measures.
As reported by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), there were over 1,000 deaths in the construction industry in 2018. Of these deaths, nearly 59% were caused by one of the following accidents:
- Falls: 33.5%
- Struck by object: 11.1%
- Electrocutions: 8.5%
- Caught in equipment or crushed by collapse: 5.5%
Further cementing the dangers of fall accidents, between the years 2003 to 2010, falls were the most common cause of fatal traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in construction accidents, according to the American Journal of Industrial Medicine (AJIM).
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Violations that Commonly Occur on Construction Sites
Most construction site infractions involve the dangerous storage of hazardous materials, inadequate safety measures, and improper maintenance.
From 2017 to 2018, OSHA cited these offenses more than any others on construction sites:
- Inadequate fall protection
- Failure to abide by the hazard communication standards
- Not meeting scaffold requirements
- Lack of respiratory protection
- Improper control of hazardous energy
- Violations related to ladders
- Infractions related to industrial trucks
- Failing to meet training requirements for fall protection
- Machinery guarding offenses
- Insufficient eye and face protection
Damages in a Construction Accident Injury Settlement
While you cannot sue your employer in the state of New York for most construction site accidents, you may be able to sue a negligent property manager, contractor, tool manufacturer, or another party that caused or contributed to your accident, depending upon how it happened Some construction site accidents will support claims again the property owner and general contractor even when their negligence played no part in the happening of the accident. Nevertheless, in certain cases, these parties can be held legally and financially responsible.
If you can prove that the other party’s negligence caused your construction site accident, they may owe you compensation for your damages in a personal injury claim or lawsuit. Examples of potentially recoverable damages in New York can include, but may not be limited to:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Damages for serious disabilities, including an inability to work
- Lost wages during the recovery period
- General mental anguish
- Physical pain and suffering
- And more
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Construction Accident Lawyers Ready to Help You
Friedman & Simon, L.L.P. represents construction accident victims on Long Island and in the greater New York City area. We will build a case and go after any party who is liable for your damages when we represent you. We also handle wrongful death lawsuits for family members of those who died in a construction accident. If you are in this situation, please accept our condolences and our assurance, we are ready to fight for the monetary compensation you need and the justice your departed loved one deserves
Friedman & Simon, L.L.P. offers legal services in a variety of ways, including:
- Keeping you updated on your case
- Identifying liable parties
- Communicating with all parties for you
- Gathering evidence
- Determining a value for your case
As every construction accident is unique, our team would love to start learning more about your case today. We are ready to investigate every relevant detail, to build the strongest case possible on your behalf.
To discuss what caused your construction accident and your legal options with a member of our team, call Friedman & Simon, L.L.P. today at (516) 932-0400. Consultations are free, and we are proud to assist callers in several different languages, including Spanish, Greek, Bengali, Tamil, and Kannada.
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