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Inadequate Fall Protection

Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation – Inadequate Fall Protection

Inadequate fall protection needlessly exposes Massachusetts workers to serious, and often fatal, consequences. As with most accidents, the exercise of proper care and a commitment to safety by the general contractor and its sub contractors greatly reduces the risk of such unnecessary injuries, while carelessness and a desire to cut corners is a recipe for disaster.

The failure to provide proper fall protection has long been a concern of OSHA, which has enacted a number of regulations that address fall protection. Adequate fall protection includes providing all who work more than 6 feet above the ground with a system that provides constant protection from falls. If a worker’s job requires changes in position, then a dual safety system is required when working 6 feet or more above ground. Such a system insures that the worker is always attached to a structure which thereby prevents a dangerous fall.

The use of a single fall protection device, which requires a worker to detach from the fall protection when moving to a higher or lower position, is quite inadequate. Workers must be provided with a system which prevents a fall at all times. The use of a single lanyard in climbing or work above 6 feet is not sufficient as an employee must unhook the lanyard when moving more than 6 feet. It is clear that anytime one changes position that he or she is more susceptible to a fall than when working at a fixed point. The use of two lanyards or similar devices protects workers at all times including the especially dangerous points when transferring from one working surface to another.

The failure of an employer to provide such fall protection creates an unacceptable risk of injury. An experienced Boston workers compensation lawyer knows that the Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Act contains important provisions which significantly sanction reckless employers who fail to properly equip their employees. Careful examination of the circumstances of such accidents may result in several sources of recovery from all parties which contribute to the cause of such falls.

Construction site safety is the non-delegable duty of a general contractor, which is required to insure that adequate fall protection is provided at all times. However, employers, subcontractors and/or safety consultants may also be legally responsible for an accident which occurs as a result of inadequate fall protection, and cannot necessarily use the excuse that the general contractor alone is responsible in an attempt to avoid their duty of care to all employees on a construction site.

When one is injured in such an accident, the consequences are often severe. The last thing that an injured worker is able to do when injured in an accident which occurs as a result of inadequate fall protection is to investigate the reason for his or her injury. It is essential that a construction worker injured as a result of such an accident seek assistance as soon as possible to document the names of the subcontractors and safety consultants as soon as possible. Whenever one is injured as a result of such an accident consult an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to address all of the issues surrounding the accident.

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