{"id":13623,"date":"2022-09-08T16:03:49","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T20:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/18fbf770e8.nxcli.io\/?p=13623"},"modified":"2022-09-09T15:30:56","modified_gmt":"2022-09-09T19:30:56","slug":"construction-safety-and-personal-protective-equipment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/article\/construction-safety-and-personal-protective-equipment\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction safety and personal protective equipment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<p>Ensuring the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is one of the best ways employers can improve safety and reduce the risk of construction-related accidents. It\u2019s a lot like wearing a seatbelt while riding in a car: it won\u2019t prevent all accidents, but the right construction safety equipment makes it less likely that an accident will cause serious injury or death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bigstock-First-Aid-Support-Accident-At-451628647-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"A male worker had an accident after not following construction safety rules\" class=\"wp-image-13677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bigstock-First-Aid-Support-Accident-At-451628647-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bigstock-First-Aid-Support-Accident-At-451628647-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bigstock-First-Aid-Support-Accident-At-451628647-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bigstock-First-Aid-Support-Accident-At-451628647-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bigstock-First-Aid-Support-Accident-At-451628647-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Required PPE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Employers must do their best to keep their workers and visitors to their construction sites safe. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/ehs.princeton.edu\/workplace-construction\/construction-safety\/personal-protective-equipment-ppe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Environmental Health and Safety Department<\/a> at Princeton University, every worker on a construction site should wear a hard hat and safety glasses. High visibility safety vests are required when the site exposes workers to vehicle traffic. In addition, all workers should wear long pants, shirts with sleeves, and work boots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some cases where other hazards are present, workers should also wear additional construction safety equipment. This may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Protective gloves<\/li><li>Hearing protection<\/li><li>Full face shields for cutting, grinding, or chipping,<\/li><li>Chemical splash goggles<\/li><li>Respiratory protection<\/li><li>Fall protection equipment when working above 6 feet.<\/li><li>Specific protective clothing, such as FR clothing for working with electricity or welding leathers when welding.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The risks of not using PPE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are numerous cases when workers may prefer not to use appropriate PPE. For example, let\u2019s say Joe works at an outdoor construction site, and it\u2019s ninety degrees outside. Joe might easily prefer to do his work in a tank top, or to take off his hard hat if he doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PPE is required, though, because of the risks Joe doesn\u2019t see. Just like the seatbelt, construction safety equipment is there to protect him when the unexpected happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Employer responsibilities in regards with construction safety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Keeping employees safe in their working environments is good business since it reduces the likelihood that a worker will become unavailable through injury. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/laws-regs\/regulations\/standardnumber\/1926\/1926.28\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">makes employers responsible<\/a> for \u201crequiring the wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment in all operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s because workers will too often trade comfort for risk. In the example above, Joe is more worried about staying cool than wearing the right clothes or keeping his hard hat on. The heat might also make the dust mask uncomfortable, and his body heat might steam up safety goggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if his employer fails to require proper PPE, they may be subject to fines and other penalties even if there isn\u2019t an accident. If there is, and it\u2019s found that Joe\u2019s employer let him work without the right construction safety equipment, Joe might have <a href=\"https:\/\/codes.findlaw.com\/ny\/labor-law\/lab-sect-241.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">grounds to bring a suit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Construction Safety Statistics Infographic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Construction-Safety-Statistics-410x1024.png\" alt=\"An infographic with 8 Construction safety statistics.\n1.  1 in 5 deaths among U.S. workers is in the construction industry.\n2. Workers\u2019 compensation claims for nonfatal falls account for $2.5 billion annually.\n3. Construction workers between the ages 25-34 are most likely to sustain injury.\n4. More than 25% of construction workers indicate that they have failed to report a work-related injury.\n5. The \u201cFatal Four\u201d leading causes of construction deaths (falls, struck by equipment, caught in between objects and electrocutions) account for over 60% of all construction-related deaths.\n6. Total workplace injury costs exceed $170 billion for construction companies each year.\n7. Of the 42 annual crane-related deaths, approximately 60% involve a falling object.\n8. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties can cost anywhere from $13,653 to $136,532 for safety violations.\n\nBy Napoli Shkolnik. \nAll Right Reserved. \nVisit us - www.NapoliLaw.com\n\" class=\"wp-image-13695\" width=\"410\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Construction-Safety-Statistics-410x1024.png 410w, https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Construction-Safety-Statistics-200x500.png 200w, https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Construction-Safety-Statistics-768x1920.png 768w, https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Construction-Safety-Statistics.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">If you\u2019ve been injured at work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Workers compensation insurance provides benefits to employees who are injured at work. For severe injuries, most workers benefit from working with a construction lawyer who can guide them through the process. That\u2019s especially true when the worker\u2019s employer doesn\u2019t provide or require the proper PPE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/\">construction industry lawyers<\/a> at Napoli Shkolnik are experienced in assessing your construction safety claim. That includes assisting with workers compensation claims and holding employers who fail to require PPE accountable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ensuring the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is one of the best ways employers can improve safety and reduce the risk of construction-related accidents. It\u2019s a lot like&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[778],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-workers-compensation"],"acf":[],"page_builder_type":"classic","gutenberg_data":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}