On a construction site, a dropped object can be deadly. Even so, some people believe that workers and employers really are not taking the danger seriously enough.
To start, let’s look at some of the statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). They claim that people get hit by falling objects at the incredible rate of 50,000 people per year. It could be higher, as reports claim it’s “more than 50,000.” But even if that rate is perfectly accurate and it’s not really any higher, that means that someone gets hurt on the job like this every 10 minutes in the United States.
Every 10 minutes.
The next thing that experts point out, though, is that the statistics only take into account the incidents that get reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). How many minor injuries do people try to cover up? How many reports never get filed, either mistakenly or on purpose?
Beyond that, you have to ask how many incidents with dropped objects do not cause injuries and never get reported. A worker drops a circular saw from 40 feet up and it lands two feet away from a worker standing on the ground. Everyone’s fine and no one reports it, but that was almost a deadly accident — or at least an accident causing serious head and brain injuries. You can’t ignore it just because people were lucky enough to avoid injury this time.
Have you gotten hit by a falling object, perhaps because your employer didn’t take the danger seriously? If so, you need to know how to get workers’ compensation for your costs.
