Construction contractors are the companies that are brought in to perform all manner of construction projects, from ground-up construction projects, to renovations, to demolitions. Contractors often employ scores of workers to assist in their construction projects, and they have important responsibilities to ensure conditions on the work site are safe. When they are negligent in those responsibilities, their employees are much more likely to get hurt. Here are five duties construction contractors have on a work site:
- Providing personal protective equipment (PPE)
- While the term “PPE” has become significantly more well-known due to the importance of masks in preventing the spread of COVID-19, construction workers have long needed masks, gloves, and other gear for their work. By law, it is the duty of construction contractors to ensure their workers are provided with PPE, which limits the risk of injury or sickness due to the many hazards they can encounter. When construction contractors fail to provide sufficient PPE, construction workers are much more likely to become injured on the job.
- Installing safety measures
- It is also the duty of construction contractors to install other safety measures to prevent common forms of injury. This can include safety nets or other fall protection around elevated platforms, or safeguards on power tools and heavy machinery. When these safety measures are not implemented, or when they are not kept in good repair, it significantly increases the risk of injury from falls, electrocutions, burns, and other sources of injury on construction sites.
- Performing inspections
- Just about everything on a construction site needs to be inspected before construction can properly begin. This includes inspecting tools and equipment, as well as inspecting the work site itself for potential hazards or code violations. These inspections are often tedious and costly, which incentivizes many contractors to want to skip them. When they do, however, it increases the risk of faulty equipment or dangerous conditions on a work site to cause an injury to workers.
- Putting up warning signs
- Along with the many hazards that can be found on a construction site are supposed to come warning signs for their hazards. Construction sites can be incredibly dangerous, with caustic and flammable chemicals potentially everywhere, electrocution hazards from exposed wires or heavy machinery, and even potentially cave-ins from unstable buildings. Without proper warning signs, a worker can stumble into any of these hazards accidentally, and get injured as a result.
- Education workers on safety measures
- All the safety measures in the world do not matter that much if workers do not know how to use them or what they mean. For example, if a power tool has a guard intended to prevent accidental injury, it matters little if a worker does not know to have the guard in the proper position before using the tool in question. It is the responsibility of construction contractors to ensure workers are educated on safety measures, which protects them against preventable injuries.
If you have been involved in an accident at a construction job site, it is important to speak with an attorney to be informed of your legal rights. The personal injury lawyers at Zlotolow & Associates can bring more than two decades of experience to your case. We have helped thousands of clients recover through settlements and courtroom verdicts. To schedule a consultation, you can call us toll-free at (886) 800-0092, or you can visit our contact page.
