Thanks to the efforts of organizations such as OSHA, construction accidents have actually declined by nearly 40 percent over the past five years. Even so, construction accidents which result in death or serious injury are all too common. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that more than six million people currently work in the construction industry—about 4 percent of the nation’s entire work force. Construction projects as a whole have specific safety hazards, many of which are challenging to eliminate due to the nature of the work. These safety hazards can result in construction accidents, some of them fatal, although many are the result of specific negligence. As such, it is important to contact an experienced New York construction accident lawyer at Talisman & DeLorenz, P.C., Members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the National Top 100 Trial Lawyers, as soon as possible.
Construction Accident Statistics
According to recent statistics, one in five worker deaths across the nation occurred at a construction site. In the Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island boroughs of New York there were 231 reported construction accidents with 8 construction accident fatalities.
The largest percentage of construction site accidents occurred when a worker fell, followed by material falling on a worker, mechanical construction equipment accidents, and scaffolding accident injuries. According to OSHA, the “fatal four” in the construction industry are:
1. Falls
2. Being struck by an object
3. Electrocution
4. Being caught in or between objects or machinery.
If those fatal four could be eliminated, at least 468 construction workers’ lives would be saved across the nation annually.