The most serious construction injuries

On Behalf of | Sep 6, 2022 | Workplace Injuries

Injuries can happen to anyone while they’re on the job in Oklahoma. But in the construction industry – which employs about 10 million people in the United States, according to the CPWR – the injuries tend to be more severe.

What are the most common types of construction injuries?

Falling from heights, failing to wear a helmet and being hit by a work vehicle are just some of the most common examples of injuries that happen on construction sites. Other common construction injury types involve:

  • Falling objects
  • Vehicles
  • Tools
  • Electrocution

There’s a wide variety of construction vehicles, and almost all of them handle far differently than regular cars. They tend to be big, and driving them means throwing around exceeding amounts of weight, so being hit by one of them causes serious injuries.

Construction workers can also suffer injuries in the aftermath of a construction job. There’s no shortage of opportunities for people to severely injure themselves while cleaning up the mess afterward. This is particularly true with machine operators who collect and remove the resultant rubble and other debris.

Unsafe practices are another major contributor to workplace injuries in the construction industry. This often comes from people trying to cut corners, whether the pressure is coming from the higher-ups or the laborers themselves.

The risk of injury skyrockets if others are working while under the influence. Intoxication of any kind is the cause of numerous construction-related injuries, including dizziness from prescription medications.

Workers’ compensation and construction injuries

Injuries may result from other workers not paying attention and creating a dangerous situation for themselves and others. And while this lack of focus on the task at hand might be the employee’s responsibility in some part, it may also rest on the company to properly enforce safety practices.

An object doesn’t have to be very heavy for it to cause significant harm to a person when dropped from a great distance, and a workers’ compensation claim might follow. Wearing a helmet may be a life-saving act – and it’s also an OSHA requirement.