Whether you live in a metropolis like New York City, a small city like Columbus, Ohio, or a quaint little suburb like Anytown, USA, buildings are going up, homes are being built, and roadways are being expanded at any given moment. Most of us are hard-pressed to go about a typical day without seeing construction sites all around us. While urban growth is a good thing, the catastrophic accidents that can happen at construction sites are not.

Dangerous Construction Sites

Construction accidents result in some of the most serious injuries because of the type of equipment used at these sites. If you’re working around lumber, concrete, bull dozers and cranes, the chances of getting hurt increase and the chances that injuries are quite serious skyrocket.

With power tools aplenty and dangerous, hazardous materials within reach at construction sites, accidents will happen. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the construction industry, which is one of the largest industries in the country, is also the most dangerous:

• One in ten (10% of) construction workers suffer an injury on the job annually
• Construction industry has the highest rate of workplace injury
• In the US, there are approximately 1,000 construction fatalities each year
• Fall injuries result in more than a third of all fatalities in the construction industry; so, about 40% of all work-related falls in the U.S. occur at construction sites.

People who choose construction as their career know going in that their job is much more dangerous than the average person’s job. But construction workers should not fear for their lives every time they’re on the clock. There are rules and regulations in place set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure construction workers are protected and safe when they enter a job site. Even when developers, contractors, foremen and construction workers abide by OSHA rules and regulations, accidents can happen.

If you have suffered an injury at a job site or if you have lost a loved one due to a construction site accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

What To Do After a Construction Accident

Construction workers are provided a very specific set of instructions they must follow when accidents occur at a job site. The very first thing anyone should do following an injury is get medical help and report the accident to a supervisor immediately. If the injured person is not able to speak or otherwise report the injury, then someone else on the job site should.

Workers’ Compensation paperwork will have to be filed very soon. Time is of the essence in Workers’ Comp cases, and delaying the paperwork, even just one day, can mean the difference between having your expenses covered or not covered by this government agency created to pay for on-the-job injuries.

Keep in mind that every employer must carry Workers’ Compensation insurance, but just because you have filed a claim does not mean you’ll be reimbursed for all of the expenses related to your injury. An experienced construction accident attorney with knowledge of the Workers’ Compensation system will help you navigate the difficult maze that often follows construction site injuries and fatalities. Please contact a personal injury lawyer in your area today to schedule a free consultation.