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Falls from Heights are the Major Cause of All Construction Site Injuries

Posted on August 07, 2011 by Ronald Todd

Proper Planning Needed to Prevent Falls from Height

The number one reason for all serious injuries and construction fatalities is falls from height. Falls from height cover a latitude of construction accidents (ladder accidents, scaffold accidents, fall from holes or leading edges, fall protection accidents, etc).

Advance planning with regard to construction site hazards related to falls can eliminate most of these falls. OSHA regulations provide the minimum standards for construction sites. These regulations will help prevent most accidents. However, certain construction site hazards require additional precautions beyond OSHA.

Some Common OSHA Standards Aimed at Reducing Fall Accidents

Following OSHA standards related to the particular fall hazard, will help reduce or eliminate injuries from falls at the job site. This should be the goal of everyone at the job site -- eliminating all unnecessary accidents by performing the work safety. This can only occur when safety is implemented and enforced by the controlling contractor at the site. The following are some common OSHA standards that must be implemented and enforced at construction sites:

• Contractors must have a safety plan/program that is established to prevent accidents. It must include frequent and regular inspections of the job site, materials and equipment by a competent person (29 CFR 1926.20(b)(1)).
• All workers must be thoroughly trained in the recognition and avoidance of construction site hazards associated with their work and work areas (29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2)).
• All workers must be provided with the appropriate personal protective equipment such as harnesses and lanyards when workers are exposed to a falling hazard (29 CFR 1926.28(a) and 29 CFR 1926.104(a)).
• Safety nets must be used when a work area has a risk of falls over 25 feet above the ground, water surface or other construction hazard that the use of ladders, scaffold, catch platforms, temporary floors, safety lines or safety harnesses are impractical (29 CFR 1926.105(a)).
• Floor openings must be guarded by standard railings (29 CFR 1926.500(b)(1) and (b)(7)).

If the construction involves working on a roof, the general contractor must protect workers against falls from roof by:

• Installing a safety monitoring system on the roof if it is a low pitched, fifty feet or less in width and no mechanical equipment is being used (29 CFR 1926.500(g)(1)(iii)).
• Warning lines must be erected around work area on low-pitched roof at heights greater than 16 feet (29 CFR 1926.500(g)(3)(i)).
• A MSS system must be erected along all unprotected roof sides and edges (29 CFR 1926.500(g)(5)).

Contact Construction Injury Lawyer at Ronald S. Todd, P.C.

If you have been impacted by a construction accident, then you know all too well the painful realities. Lost work, wages, deteriorated health and medical bills are all results of dealing with the aftermath of a serious construction injury.

Your financial concerns should never interfere with your family's welfare. At the law offices of Ronald S. Todd, P.C, we understand your financial worries. We handle all construction accident cases on a contingency basis. This means that you don't pay any attorney fees until you get the recovery that you deserve.

If you or a loved one is suffering from a construction injury and are seeking someone to help, contact our offices today at (317) 375-7718 or online at www.ronaldtoddlaw.com for a free case review by a construction injury attorney.

This entry was posted in Construction Accidents, Falls from Height, Ladder & Scaffold Accidents, Construction Fatalities, Construction Injury Attorney, Construction Injury Lawyer, Construction Site Accident Lawyer, Construction Site Hazards, Ladder Accidents, Ladder Injury, Ronald S. Todd, P.C., Scaffold Accidents, Scaffold Injury