Injuries can happen in many different ways on the job. However, for many workers, the biggest risk that they face every day is being injured in a fall. This could be a fall into a trench, off of a ladder or from one level to another – just to name a few examples.
Just how common are these incidents? The construction industry is infamous for experiencing the most fatal accidents every year. By far and away, the biggest percentage of these accidents concern falls. They make up over 36% of all fatalities in the construction industry every year. This is more than electrocutions, being struck by an object dropped from above, being hit by vehicles or being injured by heavy machinery.
With that said, falls affect workers in every industry, from healthcare to education, hospitality to retail.
Serious non-fatal injuries also occur
The statistics above only relate to the thousands of workers who die from their injuries caused by a fall. Many more workers suffer non-fatal injuries, which can be life-changing. For example, a worker could suffer from a traumatic brain injury. This could cause them to lose physical or cognitive skills. In many cases, the brain cannot heal fully because it doesn’t have any ability to regenerate the neurons – brain cells – that individuals are born with. This means that a single head injury suffered in a fall could change the rest of someone’s life.
Fall victims also tend to sustain life-changing consequences when they incur spinal cord injuries. Nerve damage is incredibly serious and also may not heal. Many people who suffer from spinal cord injuries end up being paralyzed below the level of their injury. This could make further employment impossible, at least in an industry that requires manual labor.
What are your options?
Occupational falls are very common and they can have dire ramifications. As a result, any workers who have been injured in a fall need to be sure that they understand all of the legal steps they can take to seek proper compensation with the assistance of an experienced legal professional.