Common Construction Accidents and How to Prevent Them

More workplace accidents occur due to construction than any other industry in the United States. A lot of these accidents are caused by recklessness. After an accident, you’ll want to talk to a construction accident lawyer, but trying to avoid accidents will help the most. It’s vital to know what kinds of hazards your workplace poses and how to avoid getting hurt.

In the United States, around 20 percent of all work-related deaths are attributed to the construction industry. Given the severe figures presented, every major participant in the building business has to be made aware of the dangers that exist and the options for lessening those risks. Employees must learn about their rights to compensation for injuries to avoid injuries in the first place.

Construction has a history of being dangerous. Workers and employers alike should be alert to possible dangers.  After you’ve been hurt on the job, speak with an attorney who specializes in workplace injury claims. To learn about workplace dangers, it is essential first to understand risks like injuries and illness.

Injuries And Accidents Connected to Different Types Of Construction Work:

Other injuries and diseases that often occur as a result of construction incidents include:

• Damage to the shoulders, knees, and joints
• Shattered bones and fractures
• Wounds and other damage
• Finger, toe, arms, and leg amputations
• Injury to the eyes
• Burns including chemical burns, electric burns, fire, or explosions
• Hearing loss because of consistently loud noises or abrupt noise
• Traumatic brain injuries, which include concussions
• Death

Common Construction Site Accidents and How to Prevent Them:

If construction procedures aren’t followed, it becomes a hazardous line of work. Nearly 20% of private-sector worker deaths in the US come from the construction industry.  Construction site accidents may occur because of a range of reasons, some of which are listed below, along with some ways to avoid them:

A Descent From The Heights:

When building something, most tasks require heights like roofing, ladders, and scaffolding. A lot of construction injuries happen when workers fall, and this can result in significant damage. It is the responsibility of managers and owners to provide trained employees to install climbing equipment like ladders and scaffolds safely. They must be examined before each day to confirm that they fulfill safety regulations and are fully functional.

• Mishaps, Slips, and Trips:

One frequently sees a building site with supplies, tools, and garbage strewn about. Workers have the potential to trip and injure themselves on the barriers, causing lost time at work. To avoid falls at the building site, it is critical to ensure that the workspace is kept free of clutter. In addition, management should ensure that the building stays dry so that any people using it can’t slide or trip.

• Electrocution:

There will always remain a project’s leftovers—exposed cables, broken power lines, or malfunctioning machinery—until the project is done. That defective equipment and power cables might lead to electrocution. Electrocution may lead to deadly injuries, and unfortunately, these injuries are prevalent.

To reduce the chances of an electrocution accident, site supervisors should ensure that any exposed wires or locations with high voltage are adequately identified and fenced off. In addition, to reduce the risk of electric shock, all tools must be kept clean and operational.

• Debris Falling:

At a construction site, employees are at risk of getting hurt by materials, equipment, and other objects that fall from great heights. In some cases, falls can cause severe injuries, depending on the size of the falling thing.

Workers are often vulnerable to falling objects and risk getting injured or even killed. Installation of safety nets that capture or slow down falling objects is one approach to reduce these dangers. Also, companies must make sure they equip employees with protective headgear and footwear to defend against anything falling on them.

• Overexertion:

Construction is physically rigorous and exhausting, and construction workers are vulnerable to overexertion injuries. Because the job requires moving important things or doing monotonous activities, it is essential.

Workers should have the proper equipment, so they don’t injure themselves by working too hard. They might get a back brace to help them with heavy lifting or use ergonomically designed equipment to do tedious jobs. And, when doing repetitive activities, employees must have regular pauses.

• Faulty Equipment:

Accidents caused by faulty machinery may be pretty dangerous in construction. Avoiding faults by employing regular maintenance is an effective method of staying safe. Ensure equipment has been maintained before usage by checking the maintenance journal. Keeping everything in good shape keeps everything up to code, extends the usable life of tools, and generally carries everything in good functioning order.

A brief examination and a walk-around are things to perform before beginning to use machinery. Any flaws or risks will show up here. Fault finding on defective equipment accident cases may be time-consuming. It’s essential to have the proper training to spot problems and conduct inspections before using the equipment.

• Toxic Chemical Contact:

Corporations (both private and public) are liable for ensuring their employees are trained in occupational health and safety. Employees must take hazard communication and material safety data sheet training for their jobs that might put them in danger of coming into contact with hazardous substances.

Chemicals should be well labeled and easy to access, as well as available in the workplace. For chemicals like an eyewash station, mandatory safety equipment is necessary. Legal protection is provided through legal counsel and OSHA regulations after chemical exposure.

How Can a Construction Accident Lawyer Help?

Workers injured on the job must often submit a workers’ compensation claim. The system offers medical care and financial support to workers while they heal at home from their accident.

Workers may sometimes have to file a lawsuit to be compensated for injuries, but an injured worker can rely on their employer for compensation in some conditions. For instance, you may have a limited ability to get payment and reimbursement for your injury, or your claim may be rejected altogether. If that occurs, you may have to get your claim appealed.

When you’re injured, you might incur tremendous costs, such as time away from work, medical expenses, and other headaches. You should consult with a lawyer or a law firm before doing anything else, including trying to settle by yourself. This one action can benefit you much in your recovery and provide you a greater chance of getting compensation by putting you on an equal footing with the party at fault.

Have you suffered a construction-related injury? Do you know what legal help you can get? Contact the construction accident attorneys at Philadelphia Injury Lawyers P.C. for a free consultation.

Covid-19, Nursing Homes and Federal Regulation

As covid-19 ravaged nursing homes, it killed 184,000 elderly and disabled patients as well as their caregivers. The U.S. Senate is considering a measure to modernize government rules and supervision of these institutions. ‘The Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act’ was proposed by six Democrats, including Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Scranton Senator Bob Casey.

Covid-19 infections are on the rise throughout the nation, more so now due to the highly infectious Delta variant. Nursing facilities may not be fully equipped to deal with the spread of the virus or deal with its impact on the health sector, thus compromising the health of those in need of care. In the event of such negligence, a personal injury attorney is the best option.

Staggering Death Toll:

A spike in illnesses in early 2020 sheds attention on nursing facility staffing shortages and infection control problems, particularly at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County, where the first outbreak occurred. To help the personnel at the huge 589-bed hospital, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf called in National Guard troops. More than 70 people died in the community. As it turned out, the coronavirus had spread across the whole facility.

Even though Brighton had more covid-19 fatalities than any other nursing home in Western Pennsylvania before vaccinations were available late last year, few institutions could avoid infection. Covid-19 fatalities accounted for more than half of Pennsylvania’s 27,957 deaths in long-term care institutions — 13,434 among residents of nursing homes, and 1,894 among residents of personal care and assisted-living facilities

In many states, such numbers were the norm rather than the exception. In June, the New York Times reported that nursing home patients accounted for 31 percent of the nation’s covid-19 fatalities, even though just 4 percent of the nation’s covid-19 cases were among nursing home patients.

Why Nursing Homes?

Zack Shamberg, the Pennsylvania Health Care Association’s president and CEO, said it’s a significant problem. The association represents more than 200 Pennsylvania nursing homes and 200 assisted living and personal care facilities.

Despite this, his organization has reservations about some sections of the law that have been proposed. According to the association, patients must not be required to sign agreements waiving their legal rights when they are accepted to nursing homes.

When it comes to long-term care in Pennsylvania, “banning arbitration agreements would mean that more and more money would go to trial lawyers instead of bedside treatment,” Shamberg said. Additionally, state authorities are mandating vaccination of employees in nursing homes to enhance infection prevention.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nursing home patients with COVID-19 are five percent more likely to suffer than someone of the same age who lives at home. About 33 percent of COVID-19 fatalities occur in nursing homes and other protracted care settings. Nursing homes and other long-term care institutions have lost almost 163,000 residents and staff.

Quality control problems existed at many facilities even before the epidemic hit. In February 2020, State Survey Agencies penalized more than 6,600 nursing facilities (almost 43 percent) for prevention and treatment program inadequacies, including a lack of a corrective plan in place, according to the Health and Human Services Office of The Inspector general.

 Due to a lack of resources devoted to required requirements for efficient preventive and control programs, the nursing home sector was ill-prepared after the COVID-19 epidemic, sometimes to fatal results. More than 80,000 people live in nursing homes in Pennsylvania, which have more than 700 facilities.

As part of their custodial care, nursing homes offer primary medical care that isn’t accessible at home or assisted care centers. Other services provided by most nursing homes include post-acute-surgery care, behavioral and mental care, treatment of complicated comorbid illnesses, such as respiratory and kidney ailments, and wound care. Consequently, managers (and an often undertrained staff) are forced to do far too many duties to provide adequate care for these residents with complicated and severe illnesses.

“Skilled care” residents get reimbursements from Medicare, managed-care organizations, and insurance companies at a cost that’s three to ten times more than custodial care.

For example, the COVID-19 spikes in April and mid-December prompted hospitals to decrease the number of surgeries and hospital admissions for critical care, which substantially reduced reimbursements for nursing home residents at higher skilled-care rates. Homes were falling into financial ruin as a result of this cutback.

As of late spring 2020 and into this year, “provider relief” funds totaling about $10 billion helped slow the financial collapse. In addition to the burden of significant non-operational payments made to landlords, investors, operators, real estate companies, and management firms, this financing is just a short respite and not a long-term remedy to decreased income.

How to Regulate Improvements?

The nursing home business is prone to managers and owners that prioritize money above excellent care. Making money is neither unlawful nor immoral. Siphoning money “knowingly” leads to government demands for payment for treatment that was never provided, or was severely negligent, which is a criminal offense. However, this can be improved.

Recommendations:

First of all, Medicare and Medicaid, and other funders must connect facility payment to quality of treatment and safety while adequately financing enforcement of the law. There is a pressing need for federal, state, and local organizations working with providers to develop a plan that identifies the poorest performers in the sector and expedites their removal from government programs when reasonable efforts at compliance have failed. The state’s installation of monitors is an essential solution. By appointing interim administrators, authorities may oust owners who have demonstrated irresponsible disregard for vulnerable people.

A secondary recommendation is that governing bodies give more money for custody care. COVID-19 has worsened ongoing nursing home staffing issues, which must be addressed. According to the Biden administration’s 2021 Economic Recovery Plan, government money must be given to pay at-home and community workers a fair salary, train them, and provide caregivers and patients with medical services and equipment to support their care. Increasing federal financing and expanding state programs will be necessary to provide a safe and excellent care home option.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, nursing home licensing rules are being rewritten. It is an excellent chance to support nursing home patients who deserve respect and dignity. Priority one is to provide the best possible care.

How Can our Personal Injury Law Firm Help?

Covid-19 has led to further inspection and proposition of regulations concerning the nursing facilities. If your loved one has suffered due to the negligence of a nursing facility, you can get in touch with the attorneys at Philadelphia Injury Lawyers P.C. for a free consultation to determine the best legal path you can choose.