If you’re a construction worker, you want to work hard and not have to worry about whether your employer has complied with proper safety measures. But construction accidents and fatalities occur much more often than you would think. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there are around 150,000 construction accidents per year.
One of every five workplace fatalities is the result of a construction accident. In 2011, the leading causes of construction worker deaths were falls, electrocution, struck by object and caught-in/between. These “Fatal Four” were responsible for 57 percent of construction worker deaths in 2011, the BLS reports.
- Falls – 35 percent of deaths
- Struck by Object – 10 percent
- Electrocutions – 9 percent
- Caught-in/between – 3 percent
Recently at a construction site in Rosenburg, Texas a construction worker died during an explosion when he was working on barrels with a cutting torch. Every year in Texas over a hundred construction workers die and thousands are injured because of construction accidents.
On Workers Memorial Day in 2012, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis shared that every day in America, 13 people go to work and never come home. She said, “These are preventable tragedies that disable our workers, devastate our families and damage our economy. American workers are not looking for a handout or a free lunch. They are looking for a good day’s pay for a hard day’s work. They just want to go to work, provide for their families and get home in one piece.”
If you or a loved one were the victim of a construction accident, you deserve justice for your pain and hardship. Contact the Dallas construction accident attorneys at the Law Offices of W.T. Johnson today to set-up your free consultation.