A recent Massachusetts work accident took the life of an employee who was installing a new antenna and safety ladder on a television and radio news tower. The accident happened in Newton on Chesnut Street near I-95, according to the Boston Globe.
The 1,000-foot tower is owned by American Tower Corporation. A spokesman for the company was not able to report exactly how high the worker was when the fall accident happened. The company says it has halted work at that site until a full review has been conducted.
Our Boston workers compensation attorneys understand the dangers that these types of workers face every day on the job. It’s not only these workers who are exposed to these dangers though. Workers in nearly every industry can be injured by a serious fall accident. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were nearly 5,000 fatal work accidents in the U.S. in 2010. Work-related fall accidents were ranked as the second highest cause of fatal work accidents in 2010. Transportation-related accidents still hold the number one spot for more fatality-causing work accidents.
Employers are required to make sure that all workers have the proper safety equipment to help prevent any on-the-job accidents. They’re also required to ensure that work sites are safe for everyone. These scenarios can get complicated when a third-party or a contractor is involved in an accident. For this reason, you are urged to contact an experienced attorney immediately if you or a loved one has been injured on the job.
Most common fall accidents in 2010:
-From a ladder: 20%
-From a roof: 18%
-Other/Unknown: 17%
-On the same level: 15%
-From a moving vehicle: 12%
-From a scaffold or staging: 7%
-Down steps or stairs: 5%
-From building girders or other structural steel: 3%
-From dock, floor or ground level: 2%
Fall accident occurrences are spread pretty evenly between male and female employees in all industries. There was a 1 percent variation for the number of accidents between men and women in 2010. In most other categories of fatal work accidents, men typically experience much more accidents. Fatal work accidents are also most likely to happen to those who are 65-years-old or older. Workers in the construction industry are most likely to be fatally injured on the job.
Aside from death, other injuries from fall accidents include:
Slip and falls accidents can cause other complications including:
-Incapacitation.
-Long-term medical complications.
-Broken bones and fractures.
-Spinal cord injuries
-Head trauma.
In Massachusetts, falls are the third-leading cause of death and the number one cause of injury-related emergency room visits and hospital stays. There were more than 420 fall-related fatalities in Massachusetts in 2006. Non-fatal fall accidents hospitalized nearly 204,000 people in the state, according to Massachusetts Health and Human Services.
If you or a loved one has been injured on the job in the Boston area, contact Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Attorney Jeffrey S. Glassman for a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights. Call (617) 777-7777.
More Blog Entries:
Premiums Increase as Work-Related Accidents in Massachusetts and Elsewhere Decrease, Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog, October 5, 2011
OSHA Revamps Their Scaffold Regulation to help Prevent Work Accidents in Boston and Elsewhere, Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog, July 2, 2011