Construction workers in Illinois face a lot of different types of risks on the job. Some of the most common risks are accidents involving struck-by injuries. These accidents occur when construction workers are struck by moving vehicles, falling objects or flying debris on the job.
Falling and flying objects
Struck-by injuries account for more nonfatal construction accidents than any other type of injury. Most nonfatal struck-by accidents happen because of solid building materials, hand tools or debris that somehow got out of workers’ control. When construction work is being done at heights, falling objects are a serious hazard for workers on the ground.
Struck-by injuries involving vehicles
Getting hit by a car, truck, forklift or other moving vehicle is considered a struck-by accident. Struck-by accidents involving vehicles kill more construction workers than any other type of struck-by accidents. In general, struck-by injuries are the second-leading cause of fatal construction accidents.
Pedestrians on construction sites are the workers that are most likely to be killed in struck-by accidents. Nearly half of fatal struck-by accidents happen because a vehicle hits a pedestrian on a work site. Some of these accidents involve construction vehicles being used on the worksite, and others happen because passenger cars intruded onto work zones.
Struck-by accidents in work zones
Most people have driven past a construction work zone on a highway. When the speed limit suddenly changes in an area where flaggers are redirecting traffic, drivers must stay cognizant of pedestrians that are working in these areas. Construction workers that help to build roads in work zones experience more fatal struck-by accidents than other types of construction workers.
