Electrical hazards can be found in any home, school or place of business. It is the property owner's responsibility to ensure that residents, visitors, students and employees are safe when it comes to electrical hazards or electrocution. More than 4,000 people are injured each year across the country from these types of hazards. Some 300 people die each year due to electrical hazards. Here's how to prevent them in the workplace.
Reporting a construction site accident or injury
Working at a construction site is dangerous. You will likely be operating heavy machinery, working at heights, digging trenches, lifting heavy items and much more. Almost every task assigned to you will be a dangerous one. Employees can only do so much to keep themselves safe on a Stanislaus construction site. The supervisor of the site and the construction company also has responsibility for safety. Here's how to report an accident or injury at a construction site.
Who is responsible for keeping worksites safe?
Construction companies generally hold liability for accidents that occur within their worksites or directly adjacent to the sites. If a person receives an injury on a construction site, it is very likely that the construction company running the project is on the hook for the damages. However, this is not always the case, and it is not always simple to determine which of the many parties involved in a construction project actually hold liability.
Man dies in tragic forklift accident
A man in Contra Costa county lost his life recently in a train accident involving a forklift. The accident occurred while the man was operating the forklift to move a large load of paver stones for a landscaping project in progress. It is still not known exactly what caused the man's death, although Cal/OSHA is currently investigating to determine if the worksite contained any safety violations that may have contributed to the accident. The project was a residential driveway.
Federal guidelines promote greater safety on worksites
If you work in construction, then you almost certainly already know that falling is the most prevalent cause of death on construction worksites. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognizes this huge issue in the construction world, and has launched a program to combat it. OSHA firmly believes that all or most of these deaths can be prevented with proper training, and aims to reduce construction fatalities from falling with its fall prevention campaign.
What are my employer’s obligations to my safety?
As a worker, you have a right to a reasonably safe workplace. However, even when an employer meets their obligations, accidents can still happen. If you have concerns about the safety of your workplace, it is helpful to know what you can reasonably expect from your employer under their duty to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Protect yourself from heat injuries on the job
Summer is in full swing, which means that increased temperatures pose very real risks for those in construction and other outside occupations. If you or someone you love works in construction, be sure to take proper care to keep safe in case of dangerously high heat.
Construction collapse injures 9 workers
An Oakland construction site narrowly missed what could have been a huge disaster recently, resulting in nine injured workers and, thankfully, no fatalities. The accident occurred when the structure collapsed while workers were pouring wet concrete for the second floor, sending more than 30 workers tumbling down to the ground level.
Construction workers to participate in stand down for safety
Across the nation, falling while on a construction site remains the largest cause of injury and death among construction workers. To combat this problem, and hopefully create more workplaces that preserve workers' safety, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Center for Construction Research and Training (CCRT) are encouraging construction employers to take time to participate in the fourth annual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. The nationwide push will take place between May 8 and 12.
Do you work with scaffolds? Here's how to stay safe
Most California construction workers have a lot of experience working on scaffolds. As such, if you work at a construction site, you've probably helped assemble scaffolding and used it to carry out your job responsibilities. Due to the prevalence of their use, it's probably not surprising that scaffold-related injuries are some of the most common among construction workers.
