Falling accidents are the single most common source of injuries in workplaces across the United States, and no profession is worse for these sorts of accidents than construction. This is due, in no small part, to the negligence that many construction contractors show towards safety issues that threaten their workers’ health and well-being. Here are five ways that negligent contractors can cause falling injuries on construction sites:
- Failure to provide safety training
- One of the most common contributors to construction accidents of all types, including falling accidents, is a lack of safety training. This training is meant to teach people how to use equipment like ladders, lifts, and scaffolding with minimal risk of falling injuries. When people are not properly trained to avoid injuries, it makes it more likely they will be harmed.
- Failure to install fall protection
- Sometimes the issue is not a lack of training on these critical pieces of equipment, but a lack of fall protection. Handrails, guardrails, safety nets, and personal arrest devices are all used to prevent people from suffering from falling injuries. When this critical protection is not provided, it substantially increases the risk of a dangerous fall.
- Failure to secure scaffolding
- Scaffolding is the term for elevated platforms, commonly used in construction, that are either attached to the side of a building or suspended from above. These scaffolds are supposed to be adequately secured to ensure they remain stable while in use. If they are not secured, they can easily destabilize or collapse when someone is on top of them, leading to falling injuries.
- Failure to secure ladders
- Ladders are also a common sight on construction sites, as well as in factories, warehouses, and other workplaces of all kinds. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has strict rules about how ladders can be built, and how they need to be secured to prevent them from tipping over or collapsing. When ladders are not adequately secured, they can easily become falling hazards for anyone unfortunate enough to use them.
- Failure to perform safety inspections
- Even if you have all the best equipment and secure everything properly, it may not matter if the equipment itself is in poor repair. Safety inspections can help identify potentially defective equipment that is damaged or worn out due to use. When construction contractors fail to perform adequate safety inspections, it can result in falling injuries.
If you or a loved one have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, you should seek out the personal injury lawyers at Zlotolow & Associates. Our seasoned New York personal injury attorneys bring more than two decades of trial experience to your case. We serve all five boroughs of New York City, as well as Nassau and Suffolk County. Our aggressive personal injury attorneys always demand maximum compensation. We have helped thousands of clients recover through settlements and courtroom verdicts.
