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Construction Workers Accidents More Common Than We Think

When many of us think about construction workers’ accidents, we imagine old-timey pictures of men sitting on steel I-beams high above the ground. The implication of course is that construction accidents were an occurrence in construction sites from a time long ago when modern technology and safety concepts did not exist. The reality is that construction accidents involving workers still commonly occur. A quick search on the internet reveals more than a handful of serious construction workers’ accidents from around the country.

Though no recent accidents have occurred in Philadelphia, one serious accident occurred at one of the most well known construction sites in the United States: Lower Manhattan’s 4 World Trade Center. Last Tuesday, a 37-year-old construction worker was seriously injured when he fell six feet onto a steel reinforcing bar. The worker was taken to a hospital where he was listed in stable condition with a bruised liver and two broken ribs. It was the first of two incidents that occurred at the construction site that week. A fatal construction accident happened in Houston last week as well.

According to KTXS.com, a crane collapsed at a Houston-area construction site, and the collapse crushed the cab of the crane killing the operator inside. The 100 foot crane was in the process of installing a piece of a large wall when it collapsed on its side. The crane operator was 56 years old.

And just this week, one day after the Fourth of July, one construction worker was killed and another was injured when a crane collapsed at a work site in Wisconsin. According to wisn.com, workers were attempting to lift a 52-ton concrete girder from a barge when the crane lifting the girder collapsed. The girder fell on top of a 35-year-old worker below and killed the man. The crane operator was also injured in the accident.

Without a doubt, construction work is dangerous and serious accidents still occur. Workers who have been injured and families who have lost a loved one in a construction accident can work with an experienced workplace accident attorney to receive assistance and help navigating the legal process.

Source: The New York Times, “Two Days of Trouble Follow a Milestone at 4 World Trade Center,” David W. Dunlap, June 27, 2012