Arizona Construction Accident Lawyer Blog

Nearly half of all construction accidents in Arizona and elsewhere in the country occur during transportation or contact with objects or equipment at the construction site. According to preliminary 2008 construction accident statistics from the Bureau of Labor, out of 969 total construction accident fatalities, 240 occurred as a result of transportation incidents and 201 occurred as a result of contact with objects or equipment. As with most construction accidents, these injuries and fatalities are entirely preventable.

When workers are run over by heavy equipment or machinery, there is very little chance of survival. It happened recently at a construction site. According to a news report, a 34-year-old worker was riding on the scoop portion of a front-end loader at a home construction site. He was reportedly run over by a piece of heavy equipment. Officials are looking into how this fatal construction site accident occurred.

Anyone who has been injured in a construction site machinery accident would be well-advised to promptly seek the help of experienced Arizona machinery accident lawyers who have a winning track record in handling these specific types of personal injury cases. Construction accident law is complex and often involves several parties and multiple pieces of information and evidence. When you retain the services of a lawyer who is experienced, you can rest assured that your case is being fully and thoroughly investigated and that all sources of financial compensation are being pursued in your case.

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Construction accidents in Phoenix, Arizona and around the country are down. However, that is because construction activity is down, according to an article in the Phoenix Business Journal. Employment in the construction industry fell in July in 34 states and Washington D.C. Since July 2008, construction fell to some extent in every state except Louisiana, North Dakota and Mississippi. Arizona is apparently the hardest hit state in the country with construction employment that has declined 28 percent from a year ago. Nevada, Connecticut and Kentucky were right behind Arizona.

According to a 10-year analysis recently conducted by the Associated General Contractors, national construction fatality rates went down 47 percent and recordable safety incidents dropped 38 percent since the "collaborative safety approach" was initiated in 1998. That federal construction safety program was successful because it created incentives for companies to find and rectify safety problems proactively before incidents occurred. It also slapped strong penalties on companies that were lax about safety problems until someone got hurt or killed.

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Phoenix construction accident lawyers have always advocated a proactive approach to preventing construction site accidents that cause devastating injuries to workers and immense hardship to their families. Construction accident injuries are usually severe and could result in long-term disabilities that may cause a worker to lose his job or even his livelihood. This in turn leads to financial problems for the worker and his family. When a person is injured in a construction accident, there are many victims because one person's injury affects his entire family on many levels.

A positive and proactive approach is to prevent such construction site accidents from happening in the first place. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is apparently working with local contractors and agencies to improve safety in construction zones. According to a news report, this approach creates incentives for companies to find and fix safety problems before incidents occur while maintaining strong penalties for companies that let safety problems lag until someone gets hurt.

The construction business has its inherent risks simply because workers deal with heights, heavy machinery and electrical equipment. The type of injuries that can occur at a construction site range from electrocution and falls, to being run over by vehicles or getting hit by falling objects.

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Scaffold collapses are a leading cause of construction site accidents in Arizona and elsewhere in the nation. Loose scaffolding is a common problem at many construction sites that cause devastating falls resulting in catastrophic injuries or even construction accident death in Arizona. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor's 2006 statistics, 88 workers died from scaffold collapse accidents or falls from scaffolding. Falls from ladders contributed to 733 deaths and 160 workers died as a result of falls from rooftops.

We see examples of scaffold collapses too often. According to a news report, one such incident occurred recently at an apartment building construction site where a construction worker fell to his death and at least one other was injured after a scaffold collapsed. The workers were repairing a façade of the building. When one of the workers moved from one scaffold to another, it gave way. One of the workers fell five stories to his death. Officials are investigating the cause of the scaffold collapse. Violations are expected to be issued in this case, the news article said.

There are stringent federal and state regulations when it comes to construction sites. When companies or contractors fail to adhere to those standards and a worker is injured as a result of such violations, the contractor/firm could face severe fines and penalties.

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Falling objects are among the most common causes of Arizona construction accidents, which can result in deadly and devastating injuries to workers. Construction sites nationwide present a variety of challenges to worker safety. However, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as other state agencies, require stringent safety standards at construction sites to prevent accidents and tragedies, which can be easily avoided.

Injuries from falling objects can occur at construction sites when materials are stored haphazardly or when proper safety procedures are not followed. These serious construction accidents can also occur when workers do not receive proper training to do their jobs. For example, a 46-year-old construction worker was seriously injured as he was attempting to remove steel concrete moldings from a transport rack of a housing development site and several fell off the rack and onto him.

According to a news report, the man's life was probably saved by his co-workers, who rushed to remove the moldings and rescued him. Still, the victim suffered a broken ankle and possible internal injuries. OSHA representatives are apparently conducting an independent investigation of this construction site accident.

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