Despite strict health and safety laws, the construction industry continues to be one of the most dangerous sectors in the U.S. In fact, more than 20% of workplace fatalities occur on construction sites. While the nature of construction will mean it always carries risks, it’s important to do everything you can protect your workers and minimize your liability.
As well as taking steps to reduce the risk of accidents on-site, it’s essential to know what happens if an incident does occur. With so many construction-related accidents happening on a daily basis, there is a high risk that someone will sustain an injury on one of your sites at some point or another. By familiarizing yourself with the subsequent process, you can ensure that you’re ready to take appropriate action.
Will the Accident Be Investigated?
The Occupation Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) carries out investigations after various types of workplace accidents. When someone gets seriously hurt or killed on a construction site, OSHA typically undertakes an investigation. As soon as they become aware of the incident, they will arrange to visit your site. Typically, this will happen within hours or days of the accident happening.
You’ll need to make the site available to OSHA investigators and enable them to talk to any workers they wish to interview. In addition to this, OSHA may ask to see records relating to your health and safety protocols. The purpose of the investigation is to determine how the incident occurred and what caused it. By accessing this information, an OSHA investigation can also shed light on who is legally responsible for the accident.
Will You Face Legal Action?
If someone is hurt on your construction site, there’s a good chance they’ll take legal action against you. That’s why it’s important to contact reputable lawyers for contractors as soon as possible. By reaching out to experienced construction accident lawyers, like overseas-contractors.com, you can get the advice and representation you need. By reaching out to experienced construction accident lawyers, like Oresky & Associates, you can get the advice and representation you need.
When construction accidents occur, the contractor is not automatically liable for the incident. Liability for construction-related injuries depends on exactly what or who caused the incident. The person, people or organization liable for this type of accident could be one of the following:
- Owner of the land, site or building
- Prime contractors
- General and/or subcontractors
- Engineers
- Architects
- Manufacturers of equipment or machinery
Click here to learn more about defending yourself and your firm following a construction accident.
Protecting Your Liability On Site
One of the best ways to reduce your liability and keep your sites’ safe is to follow relevant health and safety regulations at all times. Similarly, using well-maintained equipment and machinery can help to reduce the risk of accidents.
However, accurate record-keeping is also essential if you want to protect your liability. While you’ll be legally required to keep some records, maintaining an enhanced and secure record system will make it easier to protect yourself and your company in the event of an accident.
While you may not be able to eradicate accidents from the workplace altogether, a proactive approach to health and safety can help to reduce the risk to your workers and prevent subsequent legal action being taken against you.
What to DO When a Construction Site Accident Happens?
The purpose of this article is to be helpful for you in different ways. That is the reason why we want to suggest a couple of things you should do when a construction site accident occurs. You should go through a couple of steps and ensure that everything ends in the right way.
First Step: Get the Medical Care
The first and most crucial step is to ensure medical care for the victim of the accident. People often make a big mistake here that can cost them a lot later. At first glance, the injury may not seem dangerous. Because of that, the owners of the construction site won’t react promptly, and they often won’t get any medical care.
The medical expert needs to diagnose the injury and determine the right treatment. You can’t expect your worker to get back to work immediately after the accident. Keep in mind that even a minor bump on the head can be a big problem. The consequences may not be visible immediately after the accident happens. However, there is no reason to expose yourself and your workers to that type of risk.
Second Step: Record the Accident
The record of the accident depends a lot on the health condition of the worker. If he is physically capable after the accident, ask him kindly to write down all the essential aspects. He should record the time, place, and, more importantly, the potential cause of the accident. After you report the accident, that document will serve as evidence.
Despite that, the victim of the accident should also mention who the witnesses of the accident are. They should clearly say what happened and what exactly they saw. Their story can be helpful in different ways. You will manage to determine the cause, improve it, and report it when the moment for that comes. However, be sure that the information these people provide is 100% correct. Bad pieces of information can only make things more difficult.
Third Step: Find a Good Camera
The subtitle probably seems silly, and that is the reason why we need to make things clear. You should take the pictures that can serve as evidence later. Before everything, you should take the picture of the employee’s injury. After that, you should take pictures of the place where the accident happened from different angles. It is recommendable that you do that as soon as possible before someone moves the tools and equipment involved.
Fourth Step: Contact the Lawyer
The last step is to hire a lawyer that has experience in this subcategory of the law. People are usually not familiar with laws and different procedures. If that’s the case, doing things without hiring a lawyer could be a big mistake. That is the only way to determine what exactly happened and who is responsible for the accident. Despite that, you will protect your workers and ensure that the accident does not happen once again. Because of that, be careful when choosing the lawyer you will collaborate with.
