A recent video released by News4 has revealed a series of safety mishaps on Nashville construction sites. The news organization started looking into construction sites after a series of deaths over the last two years. What they found caught the attention of the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA).
Many of these safety violations involved walking around high places without proper fall protection. The news team observed two workers walking around a construction site at 30 feet in the air with no straps or fall protection. A TOSHA representative noted that if his organization had been present at the site, an investigation would have been launched immediately. Another man was spotted standing near the edge of a building, believed to be a supervisor by TOSHA. These violations brought about concern that the employers were not taking safety requirements seriously. Unfortunately, TOSHA cannot use a video as a reason to launch an investigation – their inspectors must be present when a violation takes place for any inspections to be done.
According to OSHA, falls are the number one cause of death on construction sites. In 2015, there were 350 fatal falls to a lower level.
Starting in 2012, OSHA partnered with the National Institute for Occupational Safety as well as the National Occupational Research Agenda to spread awareness of dangerous practices that contribute to falls. OSHA requires all workers working at six feet high or higher be equipped with fall protection.
WHAT DO I DO IF I FALL ON A CONSTRUCTION SITE?
As an employee or subcontractor of a construction company, your ability to recover damages after a fall will likely be affected by Tennessee workers’ comp laws. This means that you will likely only be able to recover workers’ comp benefits, assuming a third-party (such as another employee or the negligence of the company itself) did not cause the accident through their negligence.
If you have suffered injury in a construction accident, discuss your case with a work injury lawyer.