According to workzonesafety.org, in 2013, seven workers were killed in Florida while working on a road construction site. Nationally, there were 105 deaths.
What Is the Most Common Cause of Road Construction Fatalities?
A story out of West Palm Beach shows the most common cause of road construction fatalities in the United States. WPTV says, “A construction worker is in the hospital after being run over by a dump truck on the Florida Turnpike.” The truck driver and the man that was hit were on a paving job in the early morning hours when the accident occurred.
Although this worker is in critical condition, many others are not as lucky. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) lists the primary causes of worker fatalities on road construction sites:
- Runovers and back overs have accounted for 48 percent of worker deaths. The FHWA points out that most of these accidents occur by dump truck. As we shared in the story above, the road worker was runover by a dump truck.
- Collisions between vehicles and mobile equipment has accounted for 14 percent of worker deaths.
- Being struck or caught between construction equipment or objects has accounted for 14 percent of worker deaths.
For workers that were runover:
- Being struck by a construction vehicle has accounted for 38 percent of fatalities.
- Being struck by cars, vans and tractor-trailers has accounted for 33 percent of fatalities.
Construction work is a dangerous industry to be in. If you have been injured while working construction, you may have a claim for financial compensation. Hire an attorney to help get you the compensation you need.
Did You Know? According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), 70 percent of road construction fatalities between 2003 and 2007 occurred between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:50 p.m.