Out of all of the lines of work in Missouri, construction is one of the most dangerous. Construction accidents happen all the time in the state, leading to injured employees and workers’ compensation claims.
Unfortunately, many construction accidents prove to be fatal. So many of these accidents happen for the same reasons that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) labels them the Fatal Four of construction work.
OSHA’s Fatal Four in the Construction Industry
According to OSHA, one out of every five workplace fatalities happens in the construction industry. Aside from truck or car accidents, the four most common fatal construction accidents to happen in 2016 were:
- Falls
- Being hit by an object
- Electrocutions
- Being caught in or crushed by equipment
The worst part about these terrible accidents is that they are all entirely preventable.
The Leading Cause of Death on the Construction Site: Falls
By far the leading cause of fatal injuries in the construction industry is falling. In our blog, alone, we have covered two instances of this happening in St. Joseph, Kansas City, and the rest of Missouri:
- Two construction workers died when they fell down an elevator shaft in St. Louis
- A repairman died when the TV tower he was working on collapsed and fell in Webster County
According to OSHA’s count, out of the 991 fatal accidents in construction in 2016, 384 of them were the result of falls—38.7% of them.
Being Struck By an Object Kills Nearly 100 Per Year
The second most common construction accident that proved fatal in 2016 was being hit by an object on the worksite. OSHA’s numbers found that 93 construction workers were killed when they were hit by an object on the worksite in 2016, amounting to 9.4% of the total number killed.
While this pales in comparison to the number killed in falls, nearly 100 innocent workers every year is not a small number.
Electrocutions on the Worksite
Third in OSHA’s Fatal Four was an electrocution. Worksite electrocutions killed another 82 workers in 2016, or 8.3% of the total.
Caught or Crushed by Machinery
Finally, 72 workers lost their lives on the worksite in 2016 when they were caught in, between, or crushed by equipment. While accidents like these are also very common on farms, construction workers deal with heavy machinery on a daily basis, as well. When something goes wrong, the results can be fatal.
St. Joseph Workers’ Compensation Attorneys at the Smith Law Office
The personal injury and workers’ compensation attorneys at the Smith Law Office in St. Joseph, Missouri, represent those who have been hurt on the construction site. We also represent their families if those injuries proved to be fatal. By advocating on your behalf both inside the courtroom and outside of it, we can fight for your rights to compensation from the people who were ultimately responsible for the accident.
Contact us online or call our law office at (816) 875-9373 for the legal representation you need to get the justice you deserve.