The California division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration works to limit and regulate injuries for employees across the state. Unfortunately, despite regulations, construction workers’ accidents still occur on a regular basis, resulting in injuries to those involved. OSHA recently began an investigation at a construction site where a building unexpectedly collapsed. Fortunately, all workers involved survived the accident.
About 20 workers were on the job site, laying concrete to what was to be the second floor to a parking garage they were building. Many were on scaffolding when part of the building collapsed. Witnesses reported loud boom noises and seeing workers hanging from the scaffolding immediately after the collapse.
Not only were workers hanging from scaffolding, but a few fell into the wet concrete that had just been poured. One worker explained that wet concrete can behave like quicksand, posing an emergent danger for the workers who fell into it. Fortunately, several of the workers were able to free their co-workers from the concrete before emergency officials were able to intervene. No fatalities occurred, and many injuries were minor. Reports indicated that only about nine of the 20 men on site necessitated medical treatment.
Many cases of construction workers’ accidents result in more serious injuries, and injuries from work-related accidents can add up quickly, creating financial stress. Fortunately, work-related injuries can be financially covered by workers’ compensation benefits. Although it is considered a benefit to employees, it can be a difficult system to navigate. Attorneys familiar with the California workers’ compensation benefits system can advise victims of work-related injuries on how to navigate the difficult system.
Source: sfgate.com, “Oakland construction accident: 9 workers hurt in collapse“, Sarah Ravani and Kimberly Veklerov, May 27, 2017