Working a construction job comes with a number of risks. As such, it’s a pretty common environment for personal injury lawsuits to arise. Thanks to all the heavy machinery, the heights often involved, and the weather here in Baltimore, it’s easy for workers to get hurt. When that happens, you need to call a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.
Construction Site Falls
One of the leading causes of personal injuries on construction sites is falls. In fact, it’s one of the main causes for both injuries and deaths in the entire country, across all careers. There are a number of ways falls can happen and they don’t even have to be from very high for an injury to occur. If you’re on an unstable ladder or scaffolding, it won’t take much for you to fall. You may also lose your balance if the weather in Baltimore includes high winds, rain or sleet. No matter what causes it, falling on a construction site almost always means you may have a personal injury lawsuit on your hands.
Injuries Related to Machinery
It wouldn’t be a construction site without tons of heavy machinery operating all day long. While these machines are great for construction, they can be bad for people who end up on the wrong side of them. Unfortunately, having heavy machinery around so often can lead some people to operate it negligently. Anything from a breaker hammer to a crane can leave someone in terrible condition, if this equipment isn’t constantly handled with care. Sometimes, it’s not the machine that does the damage. Rather, it might be that the machine performed as expected, but that a miscommunication meant that flying concrete, rubble or other debris strikes a worker.
Exposure to Dangerous Chemicals
By now, hopefully everyone is aware of the dangers of working with or anywhere near asbestos without proper equipment. Millions have been paid out due to lawsuits filed by workers whose lives were destroyed because of this material. However, that’s not the only dangerous chemical that a construction worker could be exposed to. OSHA also recognizes common examples like propane, gasoline, compressed gas, benzene, hydrogen sulfide and more. If exposure to them isn’t a threat, combustion always is. Again, all it takes is one negligent worker and everyone else could be in danger.
Construction Site Fights
It may sound odd to consider something like fights to be a major risk of personal injury on a construction site, especially when you consider all the other threats present. However, workplace violence isn’t exclusive to this environment. In 2017, it was the leading cause of accidents and/or injuries in Baltimore. When you consider that a construction site is never short of potential weapons, though, violence there becomes an especially scary prospect.
While you should never go to work expecting to get hurt, if you work on a construction site, it’s obviously prudent to be aware of all the risks that are around you. If you wind up getting injured on your job site for any reason, contact us today and we’ll provide you with a free consultation. We’re here to help.
