JENKINTOWN PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS

A new report shows that despite the inherent risks of injury or death from falls, construction workers throughout the United States continue to work without safeguards from falls. Fall Protection in Residential Construction Sites is a report in the July 2013 issue of Professional Safety and details the safety compliance of 197 residential construction sites. Their research shows that only 59 percent of these sites complied without fall prevention measures.

This research indicates that of the sites observed, 80 of the 197 sites did not have proper fall safety prevention measures such as tethering or proper truss support on roofs and higher elevations. When surveyed, the workers’ perceptions of protection and ease-of-use were directly linked. Workers felt the devices with minimal training needed might be the most widely adopted.

“There is a learning curve when using a new fall protection device,” co-author Vicki Kaskutas stated. “This can add time to the home building process, which is a major concern in the current economic environment.”

The article goes onto identify solutions to overcome these low adoptive statistics such as repetitive use of devices that leads to long-term adoption of technology and loaning pilot-tested equipment to contractors to allow them to test the equipment before they buy. The authors of the study close with the need to increase fall safety compliance for construction workers, noting that 64 percent of the fatalities in residential building come from falls.

The workers’ compensation law firm of Mednick, Mezyk & Kredo knows the dangers involved in the construction trades as well as the various other occupations across the state of Pennsylvania. We are proud to represent individuals throughout Philadelphia and the Leghigh Valley who have been hurt on the job. If you have been injured while on the job, call us today at 888-807-WORK (9675).