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What are the top violations at construction work sites?

On Behalf of | Dec 1, 2017 | Construction Workers' Accidents |

Construction work is considered to be an important industry in Ohio and other states across the nation. While it is a vital part of society, it is also a career path that could result in a large number of workplace accidents. Due to the dangers associated with construction works, numerous injuries and fatalities occur on construction sites. Although accidents do happen, it was determined that many workplace fatalities and injuries were due to construction site violations. This means that many of these incidents could have been prevented.

What are the top violations at construction work sites? The first is fall protection. Back in 2012, there was a total of 7,250 fall safety infractions. Because of that, this makes it the most commonly cited construction site violation. Additionally, these violations come with the highest penalties because they are frequently caused by the absence of safety equipment such as harnesses and fall protection.

The next is scaffolding accidents. Roughly 72 percent of these accidents are due to weak platforms that give away or from workers falling from them. The third top violation at construction cites is ladders. While these are commonly used at construction sites and are fairly easy to use, many workers are injured because the wrong type of ladder is used, it wasn’t inspected or a worker was careless with their use.

Lastly, powered industrial trucks, such as forklifts or lift trucks, cause construction work site accidents due to violations. These violations typically include inadvertently driving these trucks off of a loading dock, workers being stuck by them and loading accidents.

When a construction worker is injured in any of these types of incidents, it is important to understand the cause and what legal recourses are available to them. Workers’ compensation benefits could be available, especially if a workplace accident has kept an employee from being able to work. This could help address medical bills, lost wages and other damages.

Source: Arbill.com, “Top Four OSHA Construction Site Violations,” Julie Copeland, Accessed Nov. 27, 2017