Nowadays, it seems construction sites are on nearly every corner in Florida, and if you make your living working at one, you probably recognize that your job is an inherently dangerous one. While working from heights, relying on heavy, powerful equipment and working outside all pose risks to construction workers, so, too, does their use of scaffolding, or elevated, short-term work platforms that provide access to otherwise hard-to-reach areas.
Working on scaffolds is so dangerous, in fact, that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that enhancing safety procedures relating to the equipment would help prevent more than 60 deaths and roughly 4,500 injuries each year. Just what types of injury hazards do you face when you work on or around scaffolds?
Falls are an obvious one, and they can result from several different circumstances. In many instances, construction workers fall from scaffolds because the platforms were improperly erected, or because they had too much weight on them. Falls can also result from carelessness, though wearing protective head and other gear can reduce your chance of suffering a serious injury in a fall. Construction workers who use scaffolding should also be aware of the risk of electrocution that comes with doing so, and they should accordingly be extremely cautious when erecting scaffolds to ensure they are far away from power lines.
You also face injury risks working underneath or near scaffolds. In addition to the risk of a potential scaffold collapse, which can lead to head, neck, back and crush injuries, you also face injury risks due to unsecured tools or gear that fall from the platforms.
While this information about the hazards associated with working on or around scaffolds is educational in nature, it is not a replacement for legal advice.
