Construction sites have many different objects, pieces of equipment and vehicles present on and around them. Under some circumstances, these things can pose safety risks to the people working at these sites. One of the accidents construction workers sometimes suffer is being struck by equipment, an object or a vehicle.

The injuries caused by struck-by accidents can be significant. When dealing with the aftermath of such injuries, what sorts of financial relief a construction worker has access to and receives can have major impacts. So, workers’ comp claims can be matters of high importance for construction workers following struck-by incidents.

In some instances, the injuries coming out of struck-by accidents end up being fatal. Statistics from a recent Center for Construction Research and Training report point to the field of construction being no stranger to stuck-by deaths.

Reportedly, between 2011 and 2015, there were 804 such deaths in the construction industry. The annual totals for construction worker struck-by fatalities over this period hovered between 151 and 169. Construction led all major industries for struck-by deaths over this period.

Among the types of workers that make up a particularly high number of the struck-by deaths in the construction industry, according to the statistics, are:

• Excavating/loading machine operators
• Power line installers
• Highway maintenance workers.

Construction worker struck-by deaths are another situation where workers’ comp claims can take on a very high level of significance. What happens with death benefits claims made in connection to such deaths could have major implications for a deceased construction worker’s family.

Source

Safety+Health, “Struck-by fatalities most prevalent in construction industry: report,” Aug. 3, 2017