If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an accident, it is important that you begin looking out for your best interests.

Construction’s fatal 4 (or 5) causes of workplace deaths

by | Sep 15, 2017 | Uncategorized

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which oversees workplace safety in the United States, the lives of over 600 construction workers both in the Chicago area and in other parts of the country could be saved if construction businesses were able to eliminate what OSHA calls the fatal four.

As this blog has reported previously, the fatal four include hazards that are common at construction sites, like falls and electrocution. Interestingly, though, the fatal four do not include car accidents. The reason this is interesting is that, according to one statistic, car accidents and other motor vehicle accidents accounted for 1,766 of 4,547, or more than 38 percent, of all work place deaths.

While these numbers include other industries aside from construction, one still has to wonder whether the fatal four should really be the fatal five, as car accidents, including auto-pedestrian accidents, can in all too many cases lead to a construction worker’s losing his or her life while on the job.

Although the families of victims may be able to get some money through workers’ compensation, these payments are often simply not enough to adequately cover a family’s profound loss. As a result, an Illinois family can look to other means of recovery. For example, they can consider suing the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident, assuming the driver was negligent.

Likewise, a transportation accident may be the result of construction negligence, such as in a case in which the construction zone was not adequately marked or traffic was not properly routed.

Getting compensation following a work-related accident can be complicated and stressful. Cook County families who have lost a loved one may therefore wish to speak with a qualified personal injury attorney like those who work in our law office.

Archives

FindLaw Network