A lot can go wrong on a construction site. Heavy equipment, building materials and hazardous chemicals can all cause devastating injuries. This is why there are construction safety regulations in place to reduce the chance of work site catastrophes. But are local work sites adhering to these safety measures?
Are Pennsylvania Construction Sites Safe?
At a construction site at Penn State, a 29-year-old construction worker had volunteered to help dismantle a crane boom. He was helping detach a 2,500-pound jib from the crane when it fell on his head, fatally crushing him. Investigators claimed that the jib was not properly secured before the connecting pins were removed.
In another incident on the north side of Philadelphia, a construction worker was trapped under dirt and concrete when a trench collapsed. Despite the efforts of over 100 people, the man could not be rescued in time and passed away. Investigators must determine if neglected safety measures could have contributed to the collapse.
What Should Be Done to Ensure Worker Safety?
When it comes to construction safety at a work site, there is a long list of things that must be done. Workers must be properly trained, spotters need to keep paths cleared for heavy machinery, and the ground must be properly prepared. Special equipment must be available for workers doing specific jobs and that gear must be properly maintained.
Ensuring that these measures are taken can be the responsibility of many different people on a work site. For an injured worker, this can be an especially important issue. So many different parties work on construction sites, finding the party responsible for an injury could be difficult.
Identifying these responsible parties is where getting compensation for medical bills and lost wages gets tough. Workers will need to file a third party claim against any contractor, machinery rental company or equipment manufacturer responsible for their injury. An attorney who represents construction workers in these third party claims can sort through these complications. To help prevent mistakes that could bog down your construction accident case, call (215)880-1369 for a free consultation with Adam Grutzmacher. He has experience helping victims injured by the negligence of a third party on construction sites.