According to the Missouri Department of Labor, 90,036 workplace injury incidents were reported in the state in 2023. Of that number, 123 resulted in a fatality. Sadly, many of those injuries could have been prevented with proper training. When a management team fails to provide that training and an accident occurs, it might be time to discuss the incident with a workers’ compensation lawyer with Steelman Gaunt Crowley. Our experienced attorneys work with Missouri workers involved in construction accidents and other job-related incidents to help hard-working Missourians secure fair compensation for their injuries. Call (573) 341-8336 to schedule your free consultation.
What Are the Workplace Accidents Caused by Lack of Training?
While a lack of training, or improper training, can pose hazards almost anywhere, inadequate training can be especially hazardous on construction job sites, and lies behind many construction accidents. The results of these accidents range from simple cuts that require a Band-Aid to severe injuries that require a hospital stay and prolonged recovery. In the worst case scenario, construction accidents caused by inadequate or improper training may even lead to death.A lack of training causes the following four common construction accidents:
Traumatic Injuries
A traumatic injury may entail the sudden onset of severe physical harm, necessitating immediate medical attention. Traumatic injuries occur in various workplace scenarios, such as when unsecured objects fall and strike a worker, or when an inadequately trained individual’s clumsy operation of heavy machinery triggers a chain reaction of accidents in which other workers on the job site are hit, crushed, or mangled.
Trauma injuries can carry significant consequences that are both physically and financially disabling. Treatment often involves expensive medical procedures, prescription medications, and extensive physical rehabilitation. In some instances, the severity of the injury prevents the affected employee from going back to work, meaning that the financial strain caused by a sudden increase in medical expenses is exacerbated by an equally sudden loss of income.
Cuts and Lacerations
Cuts, lacerations, and punctures frequently occur due to inadequate training on construction sites. That lack of training includes non-compliance with safety protocols, or improper utilization of protective gear.
Muscle Strains and Tears
Lifting heavy equipment is part of every construction worker’s daily routine. That task requires proper training in safe lifting techniques. Without that training, there is an increased risk of a construction site worker experiencing painful muscle strains and tears. That type of construction accident leads to substantial medical expenses, chronic pain, and extended periods of missed work.
Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI)
With repetitive stress injuries (RSI), a worker may experience pain, numbness, and reduced strength. That occurs from repetitive movements and overuse of muscles, nerves, and tendons. On a construction site, lifting heavy materials, using the same tools and performing recurring repairs often trigger RSI. That can also occur when workers regularly find themselves in awkward and exerting positions to get the job done.
If left untreated, repetitive stress injuries can lead to bursitis, tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Surgical interventions with extended recovery time are often prescribed for these types of injuries. Fortunately, however, proper training to avoid putting unnecessary stress on the same tissues repeatedly can help to reduce a worker’s risk of developing RSI.
What Are the Four Main Causes of Construction Accidents?
Many construction sites post signage that tells the workers how many days it has been since the last accident. The higher the number, the better the workplace safety record. The hope is never to see “zero days.” The following are four leading causes of construction accidents, and they can all involve a general lack of training.
Falls
Slip and fall incidents are among the most common forms of construction accidents. Falls can happen for many different reasons, with wet or otherwise slippery surfaces, especially those that lack warning signs, supplying the “slip and fall” name for this type of accident. On construction sites, especially if proper protocols for equipment and material storage and maintenance are not followed, scattered debris may present a trip hazard, leading to outcomes similar to those involved in falls caused by slipping.
A minor fall incident may only result in a ew bumps and bruises, but broken bones, dislocated joints, and even cranial trauma are also sadly common repercussions of this type of accident.. Workers also experience sprains and strains from twists during a fall. Slip and fall accidents can also cause back injuries such as slipped discs, pinched nerves, or damage to the spinal cord, potentially resulting in paralysis.
Electrical Hazards
Electrocution causes an immediate injury and can also lead to long-term damage, including brain injury. The aftermath of an electrocution accident may involve severe burns across the entire body. Electric shocks may occur when construction workers come into contact with electrified metal objects like ladders, wires, pipes, or tools.
Improper grounding practices and inadequate safety measures that fail to address exposed wiring can make this type of electrocution construction accident more likely. An improperly trained workforce may also fail to conduct regular safety checks, allowing hazards such as a live electrical wire submerged in water to go unnoticed––until someone steps into the charged water. An electric shock sustained in this manner can cause arrhythmia, heart attacks, severe burns, and significant neurological damage.
Caught Between Objects
Construction workers can face injuries from being caught between machinery or massive objects. This type of construction accident can easily happen when a weighty object shifts unexpectedly and traps the victim. Legs or arms might also get entangled in the moving components of large machinery, resulting in crushed bones, limb amputations, severe lacerations, and harm to internal organs.
Falling Objects
Improperly secured objects falling from significant heights have the potential to injure anyone in the path of their descent. Depending on the shape and weight of the object in question, this type of construction site accident can lead not just to blunt force trauma but to lacerations and serious puncture wounds. Machinery or equipment defects can also propel debris at high velocities. Eye injuries resulting from projectile objects may lead to irreversible damage that results in permanent blindness.
An experienced workers’ compensation attorney with Steelman Gaunt Crowley may be able to investigate the cause of your construction accident. Be sure to document any relevant details and bring the information with you to your free case evaluation.
Workers’ Compensation After a Construction Accident
Workers’ compensation insurance is intended to cover the costs of damages Missouri workers sustain as a result of illness or injury resulting from their job-related duties or workplace hazards. . Examples of commonly covered expenses can include the following:
- Medical bills
- Prescription
- Physical therapy
- Lost wages
Victims of construction accidents could also be entitled to permanent disability benefits or vocational rehabilitation, depending on the nature of the injury and the prognosis for recovery. At times, however, an employer’s workers’ compensation insurance provider may initially attempt to deny a worker’s claim.
For legitimate workers’ compensation claims, an initial denial may not be the end of the case, but the beginning of the appeal process. The Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations explains that injured employees seeking resolution to denied claims have the right to consult with a lawyer at any point during the claims process.
Get Help With Your Missouri Construction Accident Claim
The statutory period for filing most workers’ compensation claims in Missouri is two years , usually beginning from the date of the accident, according to the Department of Labor & Industrial Relations. Rather than risk missing the deadline, workers injured in Missouri construction accidents may wish to take a proactive approach by scheduling a consultation with the experienced workers’ compensation attorneys at Steelman Gaunt Crowley. Call (573) 341-8336 today.
