Breaking down the 4 main types of construction accidents

The dangers of the construction industry are well known in Manhattan. It’s the most dangerous industry, in many ways, in the entire state. The stats given out by both the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration back this up.

For example, reports indicate that 774 construction workers were killed on the job back in 2010. That means that one out of each five workers who died on the job were in construction, making it the leader in this category by a long shot.

Those deaths can be broken down into four main categories, which are:

– Falls. There were 264 deaths, or 34 percent.- Electrocutions. There were 76 deaths, or 10 percent.- Workers who were struck by objects. There were 64 deaths, or 8 percent.- Workers who were caught in between two items. There were 33 deaths, or 4 percent.

Quickly doing the math shows you that this only accounts for 56 percent, so there were many deaths that don’t fit these categories, but they are still the leaders overall.

Many regulations are in place to prevent these accidents from happening. For example, workers who are more than four feet in the air while working are typically supposed to use safety devices, like harnesses. Protocols are in place to help workers check for live wires. Workers are asked to wear proper safety gear, from brightly colored vests to hard hats.

However, even when these things are done, the construction industry is still quite dangerous, so it’s important for workers and their families to know their legal rights to compensation.

Source: American Society of Safety Engineers, “OSHA’s Focus Four: Mitigating Jobsite Hazards,” Pete Rice, accessed Oct. 23, 2015