Construction workers have a dangerous profession. They work with heavy machinery and equipment, and one mistake or overlook could be life-threatening. The federal government regulates work sites in order to protect workers from injuries or death, and to ensure that companies have maintained a safe environment for their employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates construction sites and provides specific guidelines that companies must follow in order to be in compliance with safety standards. If an employee is injured in a construction accident, the company could be held liable for the damages.
On Wednesday, a construction worker was seriously injured at a work site in Hillsboro Beach, Florida. Not many details are available since the accident is very recent, but the incident did occur in the morning. Paramedics arrived at the scene on Hillsboro Mile at about 9:30 a.m. According to the Deerfield Fire Department, the 36-year-old man fell almost 8 feet at the construction site. He fell onto a steel railing and was impaled.
Paramedics said that the man had already been removed from the steel railing before they arrived at the accident scene. The railing apparently pierced the construction worker’s thigh or abdomen. He was immediately taken to North Broward Medical Center to be treated for his injuries. The hospital listed the man in serious condition. It is not yet known what caused the man to fall or what the work site conditions were like at the time of the accident.
Personal injury attorneys in Florida understand how one accident can by life-changing. Injured construction workers are often required to recover for several weeks before they can return to their job. Some workers suffer injuries that completely disable them and prevent them from ever working again. These workers often have family members to support, and the build-up of medical bills and loss of work can be even more devastating than the accident. In these cases, personal injury attorneys help clients file liability claims in order to recover the costs of the damages so that they can continue to provide for their families and move on with their lives.
Source:Orlando Sentinel: “Hillsboro construction worker impaled on railing,” Juan Ortega, 26 Jan. 2011