Construction workers in Texas might benefit from learning more about highway work zone safety and workplace accidents. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that between 2003 and 2013, Texas had more worker fatalities in road construction sites and work zones than any other state in the nation.
The deaths are often a result of an employee being struck by mobile equipment or a vehicle, collisions and falling objects or vehicles. More than 630 of these deaths occurred between 2003 and 2007, accounting for slightly less than 8 percent of the total number of deaths in the construction industry. Approximately half of those deaths were to workers who were hit by a moving vehicle or construction equipment. Many involved the worker being hit by a dump truck that was backing up.
Researchers discovered that 63 percent of the occupational deaths that occurred in work zones during 2013 involved construction equipment operators, extraction workers, first line construction supervisors, heavy truck drivers, highway maintenance employees and construction laborers. Specialty trade contractors, construction engineers and those in private sector construction accounted for 60 percent of the deaths. Approximately 10 percent of the fatalities were to workers in the government sector.
Construction employees injured in an accident may benefit from enlisting the services of legal counsel who has experience with workers’ compensation matters. The workers’ compensation benefits to which an injured worker may be entitled can include the provision of required medical care as well as a percentage of wages that are lost due to an inability to work. Should the claim for the workplace injury be disputed or denied, the attorney can provide representation during the subsequent hearing process.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Highway Work Zone Safety”, accessed on Jan. 25, 2015