
What Is OSHA?
OSHA stands for The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
and is tasked with creating and enforcing workplace safety standards in
the private sector, as well as reporting on any workplace accidents that do occur.
Throughout the years, it has found quite consistently that the majority
of employee deaths and severe injuries in America occur in the construction
industry. 2015 statistics collected by OSHA showed that more than 20%
of all worker fatalities were suffered by construction workers or someone
on a construction site.
OSHA data goes a step further, though, narrowing down the primary causes of fatal
construction accidents. It has labeled the top four causes the “fatal four” of construction accidents for their high rate of incidence.
The OSHA “fatal four” construction accidents are:
-
Falls: Roughly 39% of all construction accident deaths involve a worker falling
from a considerable height. In 2015, this number amounted to a total of
364 construction worker fatalities. Preventative measures that could help
reduce the number of falls each year include more training in scaffolding
creation, better materials for scaffolding, and safety equipment to prevent
falls like clips, pulleys, and hoists.
-
Struck by object: Falling objects or objects thrown through the air by a great force, such
as a bolt blown loose by a bursting pipe, account for nearly 10% of all
construction accident deaths, or 90 people a year. Supplying construction
workers with better safety equipment, namely hardhats, could feasibly
prevent a great number of struck by object deaths.
-
Electrocution: Nearly 9% of construction accident fatalities are caused by electrocution.
Upwards of 81 workers a year will be fatally struck by electricity from
faulty wiring, defective transformers, and other electrical hazards. Not
all construction workers who are electrocuted are electricians assigned
to the wiring of the project, some are merely working near the hazard.
Every employee who works near a source of electricity on a construction
site should receive extensive safety training to reduce the number of
electrocution deaths.
-
Caught-in/between: Construction workers who must work with large machinery and heavy equipment
are put in particularly dangerous situations. When a machine breaks down,
a worker may need to physically climb inside to repair it, or place their
entire arm into it. Machinery defects or the negligence of another worker
may spur the machine into action, resulting in a caught-in/between death,
which OSHA reports as the cause of about 7% of construction worker fatalities.
Get started on your case today
Have you been seriously injured in a construction accident due to someone
else’s negligence? Did you lose a loved one in an OSHA “fatal
four” accident? The Pittman Firm, P.A., headquartered in Panama
City, takes construction accident cases all around Bay County. With our
help, you may be able to collect a recovery that helps pay for medical
costs, missing wages, and more.
You can call (850) 764-0383 to connect with our lawyer and figure out
if you have a valid claim during a
free case evaluation.