Rancho Mirage Workers' Compensation Law Blog

Following the National Healthy Lung month of October, workers in California might benefit from the awareness campaigns that were run to underscore the hazards posed by silica and asbestos. However, employers have known about the dangers and the high risks of lung cancer, but workers' compensation claims continue to be filed by workers whose health and safety were not protected. Workers do not always realize that they can insist on personal protective equipment if they work in hazardous conditions.

Asbestos is still present in older buildings and also some car parts, posing dangers to construction workers and auto mechanics. Asbestos fibers become airborne, and inhalation allows the particles to embed themselves in the lungs, and mesothelioma, which is a deadly type of cancer, is often the outcome. Crystalline silica is present in concrete products and building sand, and any processes that involve sawing, cutting or grinding with power tools such as drills and masonry saws can set free the microscopic silica particles. Inhalation happens without workers even realizing it -- until it is too late.

While all industries pose occupational hazards, employees on construction sites might be at a higher risk than most. Construction workers' accidents are reported on a daily basis -- many of them fatal. However, now and again a worker walks away unscathed from an incident that could have caused catastrophic or fatal injuries.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health reported one such an accident that occurred in Contra Costa County on a recent Monday. The agency says crews from the fire department rushed to a construction site on Bethel Island shortly before 5 p.m. They arrived to find that a machine used in the paving process had run over a construction worker.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says over 50,000 construction workers nationwide, including in California, suffer injuries from being struck by objects on building sites every year. Even something as small as a nut or a bolt falling from an elevated work area can cause a severe or fatal injury. However, precautions can be taken to prevent such workplace injuries.

Although the ideal is not to have activities going on below scaffolds and other areas where work is done at heights, that is not always practical. All workers must wear hard hats, and installing a safety net between two work levels to catch any dropped tools or falling objects will further prevent injuries. Having toe boards installed at elevated levels can prevent objects sliding off the work surface, and tethering tools with lanyards is another precaution that could be effective.

Trenches pose potentially deadly hazards. A significant number of construction workers' accidents in California involve unprotected trenches. State and federal safety authorities mandate that a competent person identifies existing dangers and also predictable safety risks before workers enter a trench. Because each excavation poses unique hazards, every job needs individual care and proper preparation.

Before digging a trench, factors that could cause risks must be evaluated. The proximity of traffic and surrounding structures will play a role along with soil classification and the presence of both surface and groundwater. The current and predicted weather must also be considered. Once the decision is made to excavate the trench, the necessary protective systems must be established.