Construction work and heavy equipment are a dangerous mix

If you work in construction here in New York, falling may be one of your primary concerns when it comes to the risks you take on the job. You may take as many safety precautions as you can, but the statistics say that often isn’t enough.

To make your job even more dangerous, you face other risks that you can’t avoid, such as working with and around heavy equipment. While you rightly focus on fall injuries, you must give at least some of your attention to keeping yourself safe around the heavy equipment on the job site. Unfortunately, your fellow construction workers may present the biggest hazard to when it comes to this particular risk.

Many people deal with distractions

You could suffer serious injuries, such as a spinal cord injury, broken bones, a traumatic brain injury or even an amputation, in a heavy equipment accident. Perhaps the tips below could help increase your safety and prevent you from suffering a debilitating or permanent injury that could end your career:

• Your employer should provide you with the proper safety gear when you are in or around heavy equipment.

• Your employer should never ask you to operate heavy machinery unless you have the proper training.

• You will need to carefully get in and out of any piece of heavy machinery. A lot of falls occur during these times, and it can be a long way down.

• You and your coworkers need to communicate well when working with heavy machinery. If you end up in a blind spot, you could end up the victim of a serious injury.

• It should stand to reason that using a cell phone or allowing any other distraction while working with heavy machinery is a recipe for disaster, but people still do it. Make sure you and those you work with aren’t dealing with distractions during operations.

Following these tips may help keep you safe but still does not guarantee it. A construction accident could end your career and/or leave you with lifelong repercussions from your injuries.

If you do end up injured in a heavy equipment accident or any other work-related accident, you may be able to pursue workers’ compensation benefits to cover your medical bills and provide you a portion of your salary during your recovery. Depending on the circumstances, you may also have the right to additional benefits and may have other legal avenues for compensation. It would probably be worthwhile to contact a workers’ compensation attorney for help.