Struck-by accidents are one of the greatest risks of severe or fatal injuries for those working in the construction industry. Struck-by incidents are one of the infamous “Fatal Four” or “Focus Four” construction work hazards identified each year by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”).
According to the Center for Construction Research and Training (“CRT”), struck-by accidents are the 2nd leading cause of death among construction workers, and the leading cause of nonfatal injuries in the construction industry.
What Is a Struck-By Incident?
According to OSHA, these industrial struck-by accidents are defined as an event where bodily injuries “…are produced by an object that forcibly impacts a person. It is important to point out that in construction, struck-by hazards can resemble caught-in or -between hazards.”
These are often horrific and tragic accidents that result in the death or permanent injury of the worker-victim. Struck-by accidents are extremely dangerous, as are a similar type of on-site hazard: the crushing accident. They are also very dangerous. See, Caught In-Between Hazards: One of OSHA’s “Fatal Four” Deadly Construction Accidents.
Struck-by accidents are distinguished from crushing or “in-between” accidents by the circumstances involved in the particular case. As OSHA explains:
When the force of an impact of an object against a worker’s body creates the injury, the event is considered as a Struck-by accident. On the other hand, when the injury is created more as a result of being caught, pinned, or crushed in or between objects, the accident is considered as a caught-in or -between event.
There are several types of struck-by hazards on the industrial job site. OSHA divides them into four categories, where the worker victim is struck by one of the following:
- flying object (e.g., a tool flies through the air and hits the worker)
- falling object (e.g., a bucket falls from a scaffold and hits a worker at floor level)
- swinging object (e.g., a hoisted pallet swinging through the air hits the worker)
- moving (ground-level) object (e.g., a moving object such as a vehicle hits the worker).
Also see:
- Beware One of the Deadliest Dangers on Construction Sites: Struck-By Accidents
- Forklift Accidents: Serious and Deadly Industrial Truck Injuries on the Job
- Power Tools and the Risk of Serious or Deadly Construction Accidents.
National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-By Incidents: April 17 – 21, 2023
This week, across Illinois, Indiana, and the rest of the nation, safety agencies and advocates for worker victims and their families are encouraging employers to participate in the annual Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-By Incidents.
As explained by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (“NIOSH”), the fourth annual national safety campaign runs from April 17 – 21, 2023, hosted by NIOSH alongside the NORA Construction Sector Council, the National Construction Center, and other partners from the federal government as well as academia and various industrial representatives that include the CRT and the American Traffic Safety Services Association.
The goal of the annual awareness campaign is to encourage employers at every level to educate workers on the risks of struck-by incidents as well as making workplaces safer from struck-by hazards.
Employers Have to Make a Workplace Safety Stand-Down Happen
Of course, employers have legal duties of care and safety that they owe to every worker on the jobsite to keep them safe from harm in a struck-by incident. And it is employers that have to decide to participate in this voluntary safety campaign, called a “safety stand-down,” and to gather workers together for a safety discussion. They are not legally required to do so.
This is key, because by definition, a Safety Stand-Down stops work. As NIOSH describes them, “normal work is paused and groups of workers or the entire site focuses on a specific safety issue.”
Employers will have to weigh revenues, profits, and deadlines for the day against halting operations for proactive safety reasons.
Employers are encouraged to look at their particular worksite and the dangers arising from their operations as a part of their stand-down planning. They can then “…use stand-downs to call attention to specific interventions that may be used to address hazards present on their site.”
Suggested Struck-By Safety Stand-Down Events for Employers
There are a number of resources, such as webinars, Toolbox Talks, and online pdfs for download, that are being made available to employers for use in a Struck-By Safety Stand-Down at their job site.
For construction workers, the goal is to help them understand how to keep themselves and their co-workers safe through things like:
- creating internal traffic control plans
- keeping positive separation between workers and moving vehicles (including motorists)
- using temporary traffic control devices
- tethering tools and equipment
- conducting good housekeeping
- avoiding blind-spots around large equipment and
- using high-visibility clothing.
Other Industries Besides Construction Face High Risk of Struck-By Accidents on the Job
Of course, the construction industry is a primary focus of this national safety campaign because construction workers face a known fatality risk in struck-by incidents as one of the “Fatal Four” jobsite hazards. However, workers in other industries also face a significant danger of being hurt or killed in a struck-by accident.
Power Line Workers
For instance, power line workers in the electrical industry deserve consideration from their employers in a Safety Stand-Down regarding struck-by incidents. The Electrical Transmission & Distribution Partnership is encouraging participation in this week’s Struck-By Safety Stand Down as a protection for power line workers. (See their online graphic here.)
For more on the dangers facing power line workers, read: Power-Line Work is One of the Most Dangerous Jobs in the Country.
Warehouse Workers
Warehouse workers also face a great risk of being hurt or killed in a struck-by accident. OSHA fatality reports for warehouse accidents include numerous incidents of workers dying in forklift accidents, as well as in cherry picker collisions and being hit by falling objects or debris.
Of particular concern here are the recent reports of Amazon warehouse dangers that include OSHA-penalized dangers for struck-by incidents. See, “Failing to Keep Workers Safe; Amazon Cited After Ergonomic Hazards Found at Three Facilities: Amazon faces $60,269 in proposed penalties after inspections of sites in Florida, Illinois and New York,” written by Alex Saurman and published by OHS Online on January 19, 2023.
For more on warehouse industry dangers, read: Deadly Dangers Rising for Warehouse Workers in Indiana and Illinois.
Justice for Workers Hurt in Struck-By Accidents on the Job in Indiana or Illinois
For all industrial workers, there is a clear legal duty of care and safety placed upon their employers as well as other responsible parties involved with their workplace. Workers should be able to rely upon all reasonable and prudent safety measures being undertaken on their behalf.
Unfortunately, these safety campaigns are not legally mandated. They are encouraged by government, private industrial associations, and those involved in worker safety interests.
There will be employers in Illinois, Indiana, and elsewhere in the nation that choose to forego the invitation to participate in this week’s Struck-By Safety Stand-Down. Why? It will take time from their daily schedules and lessen the day’s revenues.
Workers should be alert to the failure to participate by an employer because it may suggest other cavalier attitudes and behaviors where worker safety is involved. Employers and others who breach a legal duty of care towards a worker can be responsible and ultimately legally liable for any resulting struck-by accident and its consequences.
To learn more, read:
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents
- What are Catastrophic Injuries? Severe Bodily Harm Suffered by Accident Survivors in Indiana and Illinois.
Both state and federal law provide avenues for justice to those industrial workers who are severely injured or killed in a struck-by accident on the job. Loved ones may also have legal damages to pursue. Please be careful out there!
