How Fatigue Plays a Role in Construction Work Injuries

The construction industry is considered “high hazard,” according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), due to the various types of tasks, materials, and equipment that are associated with it. OSHA cites risks such as “falling from rooftops, unguarded machinery, being struck by heavy construction equipment, electrocutions, silica dust, and asbestos” as hazard factors that are often associated with construction site injuries. In this industry, workers can be at risk of physical hazards, chemical and biological hazards, and ergonomic hazards linked to heavy lifting and repetitive motions. In all of these hazard categories, worker fatigue can play a role in increasing the possibility of injury.

According to a study discussed in Safety and Health Magazine, the number of hours on the job often correlates to the likelihood of construction injuries. In other words, as construction workers spend more time on the job and fatigue might begin to set in, injuries are more likely to occur. Our Maryland construction worker injury attorneys can explain in more detail.

Hours of Work and Injury Risks in Construction

The study discussed in Safety and Health Magazine appeared in the Journal of Occupational Health, and it revealed that the more hours a construction worker spends on the job, the higher the likelihood of injury. The researchers behind the study assessed more than 12,000 workers’ compensation claims from construction that resulted in at least three missed workdays, many involving hospitalization. Those researchers determined that “the frequency of injuries increased in each of the first four hours of a shift and peaked during the fourth hour.” In other words, the longer a worker was on the job engaged in physical labor, the higher the likelihood of fatigue and a workplace injury.

In addition, construction workers on nighttime shifts, in which fatigue is more likely, also sustained higher rates of injuries than daytime workers. The researchers behind the study emphasized the need for a “strict enforcement of mandatory rest breaks and meal breaks” to reduce worker fatigue and thus the rate of injuries.

Fatigue and Negligence Do Not Impact Eligibility for Workers’ Compensation Benefits

The Maryland workers’ compensation system is a “no fault” system. As such, regardless of whose negligence or error caused a worker’s injury, that worker can be eligible for benefits.

For fatigued construction workers whose own negligence may have been a causal factor in their workplace injury, they can seek and obtain workers’ compensation benefits.

Contact a Maryland Construction Worker Injury Attorney for Assistance with Your Workers’ Compensation Claim

Construction work poses serious injury risks to workers, and it is among the most hazardous industries. While appropriate safety training and protective equipment can help to reduce injuries, many hazards remain on construction sites that can result in serious or life-threatening injuries. Fatigue, as we discussed above, can often be a factor in construction work injuries, especially when workers have been on the job for an extended period of time. Regardless of whether fatigue caused or played a role in your construction site injury, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. An experienced Maryland construction worker injury lawyer at the Law Offices of Steinhardt, Siskind and Lieberman, LLC can discuss the details of your injury with you today and help you to seek the workers’ compensation benefits you need. Contact our firm for more information.

Sources:

osha.gov/construction

safetyandhealthmagazine.com/20943-study-looks-at-relationship-between-construction-injuries-and-time-of-dayshift/