The Risk Confined Space Accidents To Georgia Workers
Construction projects are chaotic worksites with many different types of equipment, business entities, and dangerous hazards. There are dozens of unsafe conditions that can result in serious injury or even wrongful death on a construction site. Confined spaces constitute one of the most dangerous types of construction worksite hazards. Confined space accidents on a construction site often cause permanent life-altering injuries resulting from electrocution, exposure to toxic substances, explosions, and other potentially dangerous hazards. In this article, our workers' compensation and injury lawyers provide important information workers in the construction trades should know about confined space accidents.
What Are Confined Space Hazards on Construction Sites?
A confined space on a construction worksite is one that has a limited path of access in and out of the area. Although OSHA has regulations regarding working in confined spaces, some employers are lax in enforcing these safety rules and providing adequate confined space training. Because an individual's presence in a confined space often involves exposure to hazardous substances such as toxic chemicals or limited access to oxygen, construction workers must be extremely cautious when working in these types of settings.
Confined space construction accidents involve the risk of serious injury due to an oxygen deficient environment, as well as exposure to toxic gas, vapors, liquids, fire, extreme thermal conditions, free-flowing solids, or other hazardous substances within an area with limited access for a construction worker to safely exit. Some common examples of confined space hazards on construction projects include the following, among others:
• Manholes
• Underground vaults
• Pits
• Pipe assemblies
• Underground storage tanks
• Tunnels
Neglect of Safety Practices and OSHA Regulations Can Cause Confined Space Tragedies
Safety requirements for working in confined spaces on construction sites include making a determination as to whether the employee can perform the work from outside the small area. If work must be undertaken within the confined space, then appropriate safety equipment and precautions must be implemented. Confined spaces should be appropriately marked, and any workers who enter these spaces should receive OSHA compliant training.
A person injured in a confined space accident on a Georgia construction site might suffer serious injury because of a lackadaisical attitude on behalf of supervisors regarding appropriate safety standards, including the following:
• Use of personal protective equipment (i.e., hard hats, ventilators, etc.)
• Evaluation of flammability of the atmosphere
• Ventilation testing
• Product instability
• Proper analysis of risk for release of hazardous energy
There are many serious accidents that can occur in a confined space on a construction project, including drowning, suffocation, asphyxiation, fire, chemical burns, radiation exposure, and explosions. These types of serious incidents can result in severe and permanently disabling injuries. Litigation of confined space construction accidents is challenging because there are many different entities on a construction project that may share responsibility for the injury victim's accident. Our experienced Georgia construction accident lawyers carefully evaluate the potential liability of third parties so that our clients can seek more extensive damages than those permitted under the worker's compensation system. In some cases, our attorneys assist many of our clients injured in construction site catastrophes in pursuing both worker's compensation benefits against their employer and personal injury damages against a third-party. We understand how serious injuries can be from the workplace, and work diligently to fight for our clients' rights to the fullest extent under the law.
Put Our Law Firm's Over 39 Years of Legal Experience to Work For You!
If you or your loved one is injured on the site of a building project, our experienced Atlanta construction injury lawyers are committed to pursuing the fullest recovery for our clients under the law. Our Georgia workers' compensation and personal injury law firm has been representing those who suffer serious injuries throughout Georgia and in the Southeast for over 39 years.
No matter where you are located, the attorneys of Montlick and Associates, Attorneys at Law, are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you. Call us 24 hours a day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). You can also visit us online at www.montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or 24-hour Live Online Chat.