How Safe is Your Construction Site?

Thetypes of injuries sustained at construction sites in the United States varygreatly based on the type of work and the circumstances surrounding theenvironment and the individual that was injured. Many construction injuries areminor while others are fatal. Catastrophic personal injuries and death canoccur due negligent coworkers or bosses, equipment failure, lack of safetymeasures, and general carelessness. Although no construction job is completelysafe, many injuries suffered on site can be avoided by taking proper safetyprecautions.

Types of Injuries

Thefollowing is a list of the injuriesconstruction workers face following on-the-job accidents:

• Head injury: Hard hats cannot protect the head from all injuries and cannot be taken for granted. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), closed head injury, concussion and coma may result from a variety of hazardous situations at a work site. Head injuries can lead to long-term complications and death.

• Closed head injury: If the head sustains a blunt force by striking against an object, then a closed head injury has occurred. A concussion is a type of closed head injury that is very common in construction workers.

• Concussion: A concussion is caused by a blow to the head that results in a temporary loss of awareness. Concussions are due to cerebrospinal fluid being unable to cushion the brain from the skull during impact. Some concussions have serious long-term effects, and the risk for long-term effects increases in individuals who have suffered from multiple concussions.

• Spinal cord injuries: The spinal cord carries sensory signals and motor control to most of the skeletal muscles in the body, and almost every voluntary muscle in the body below the head relies on the spinal cord for control. An injury to the spinal cord usually has severe repercussions on the rest of the body. A spinal cord injury, like many other injuries, can change one’s life forever and be very costly financially and emotionally for the victim and the victim’s family.

• Paralysis: Paralysis occurs when all muscle function is lost for one or more muscle groups. This can be caused by a spinal cord injury, and depending on the type of injury, paralysis may affect just a small part of the body or the entire body. Any form of paralysis will be disruptive to one's life. Routines that were once simple will be incredibly difficult, and your whole quality of life will change if you are paralyzed in a construction accident.

• Burns: Burns are a very real risk at construction sites because of huge amounts of heated water, steam, chemicals and electricity at construction sites. Burns can cause serious long-term consequences. These injuries are slow to heal and extremely painful.

• Amputations/loss of limb: Amputations are sometimes necessary following an accident to preserve life. As a surgical measure, amputation controls pain or a disease process and is a preventative measure. In some accidents, arms may be lost to machines or equipment failure.

• Broken bones: These are not only very painful but take a long time to heal.

• Blindness: Construction accidents can result in vision loss or complete blindness.

• Hearing loss/deafness: Although some forms of hearing loss can be reversed with medical treatment, many others lead to a permanent disability such as deafness. Hearing loss can be caused by physical trauma such as damage to the ear or brain centers that process aural information.