September 23, 2022
Construction workers in Illinois are no strangers to how dangerous the profession can be. Regardless, dozens, if not hundreds, of construction workers are injured in preventable accidents every year.
The nature of the accident depends on the circumstances of the job. Regardless of the type of construction work you’re doing, the following outlines the most common injuries.
Slips and falls
Overall, slips and falls are the most common type of accident in every workplace. When you’re a construction worker the cost of tripping or slipping on the job is much greater.
It’s up to workers and management to keep job sites relatively clear and to remove any hazards as soon as they crop up. In addition, workers working from tall heights should be made to wear safety equipment at all times and avoid working in unsafe weather conditions.
Accidents involving heavy equipment
As a construction worker, you’re handling a lot of heavy, specialized equipment. Most job sites will have safety guidelines that every worker needs to follow to keep them safe while handling this equipment. This can include but is not limited to:
- Wearing head protection
- High visibility clothing
- Only allowing certified workers to operate the machinery
These are just some of the baseline things that are put into play in order to avoid accidents. Accidents involving heavy equipment might still come up just due to the nature of the job, but they shouldn’t be due to a worker or manager’s carelessness.
Third party injuries
It’s not at all uncommon for a construction worker to get injured at the fault of someone outside of the company. Pedestrians moving equipment, cars going too fast in construction zones – all of that can lead to an innocent worker losing their life.
Every construction site comes with its own set of risks and challenges. By keeping the most common accidents in mind, we can hopefully plan around them to avoid more accidents.
