The construction industry keeps our cities in workable condition. They help build our infrastructure, the homes around us and the businesses we frequent. While the industry has a lot of good opportunities in terms of jobs, these careers come with obvious risks. The hands-on jobs can lead to injuries that can be crippling or even fatal.

The statistics definitely support the common knowledge that the industry comes with significant risk of injury. For every 100 full-time construction workers, there are 4.3 nonfatal illnesses and injuries.

Let’s take a closer look at the types of incidents that can lead to injuries:

–Equipment-related accidents: These are accidents that have to do with the actual equipment that is used on the construction site. Some examples include a piece of machinery tipping, a misfiring nail gun, or saw that has faulty parts. The injuries associated with these problems may fall under the product liability umbrella.

––Explosions and fires: Construction sites often have flammable chemicals that can become explosive or burst into flames. There may also be an issue with exposed wiring that could lead to a fire.

–Crush and backover incidents: These types of accidents can be very devastating because they involve a large piece of equipment, such as a truck, running over or crushing a worker.

–Falls: Fall injuries are some of the most common in the construction industry. Workers can fall from ladders, cranes, roofs or scaffolding.

–Falling objects: Workers can also be injured by falling objects on the construction site. Someone may be using tools that are not properly secured and they may end up falling and injuring a worker below.

In our next post we will continue our discussion on construction worker injuries and incidents.