For most pedestrians and drivers, a construction site is a basic inconvenience. They may have to slow down or deal with obnoxious noises until they pass the construction site. However, for a small number of people, active construction on a building can result in major injuries or property damage losses.
One of the most common rules enforced at any construction site is the need for all visitors and employees to wear head protection. The goal is to protect them from struck-by incidents involving falling objects. Pedestrians and those in vehicles nearby may not have any safety equipment available to them when something suddenly goes wrong. Falling tools, materials or debris could lead to major injuries for people close to construction sites.
Falling objects drop with little forewarning
Some situations involving falling objects at a construction site are major and dramatic. A crane hoisting heavy machinery suddenly malfunctions, dropping massive items onto the street below. Other times, minor worker mistakes might lead to items falling.
A crane may have successfully lifted a 10×10 pane of glass, only to have workers lose their grip while placing it. Large items that fall can cause the destruction of a vehicle and catastrophic, if not fatal, injuries.
Workers can also knock tools or equipment off of scaffolding or the roof of a building. Even smaller objects can cause broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and even death when they strike passing by the construction site.
There are, of course, a host of other risks for those near construction sites. There could be an explosion, which could injure people nearby with unexpected percussive force. A worker operating heavy machinery could back the machine out into traffic, striking pedestrians or causing a crash.
Proper safety practices, including the use of tool tethers, can help reduce such incidents. So can proactive management of workers, who might cut corners for the sake of expedience without proper oversight. While those construction professionals may have workers’ compensation coverage available, the average person passing by does not.
Those hurt at construction sites as passersby or onlookers may need help securing compensation. For example, they may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against a construction firm for negligence or regulatory violations that resulted in serious injury. Discussing – with a skilled legal team – what occurred that resulted in construction site injuries can help people evaluate their options for compensation after getting hurt.