New York Construction Workers and Safety: A Construction Accident Lawyer Offers Important Safety Tips

As the cold brings snow, ice and frigid temperatures, New York construction accidents bring calls to lawyers with complaints of dangerous conditions and serious accidents. As the temperature plummets, construction workers who work outdoors risk slipping on ice. These can cause injuries and even death.
Working in the cold always presents a danger, but construction workers face particular dangers. Employers need to protect their workers from many of the weather-related hazards that exist. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration alerts employers to these risks each year, spelling out the many dangers that working in cold weather presents.
One of the dangers that cold weather poses is hypothermia and even frostbite. When a worker suffers from hypothermia, his or her body temperature dips dangerously low. This can happen in cold temperatures even when it is not below the freezing mark. All it takes is cold, windy, wet weather to cause hypothermia’s shivering, disorientation, confusion and drowsiness.
When a worker suffers from frostbite, an exposed area of skin freezes. This is common on the fingers and toes as well as to the cheeks, nose, chin and ears.
In New York, cold weather brings OSHA recommendations to construction workers and their employers are given to prevent these dangerous conditions. These recommendations include:

• providing education to workers to help them learn to recognize dangerous weather conditions and what the dangers are
• understanding the environmental conditions that contribute to an unsafe workplace in order to put safety measures in place
• education workers and employers about the signs of cold-weather illnesses and what to do in order to treat an emergency
• teaching employers to monitor themselves in order to avoid exhaustion and hypothermia
• making sure that employers and workers take time to inspect work sites to look for dangerous conditions such as ice and snow that could pose a hazard
• encouraging the proper cold-weather protections such as warm, layered clothing and learning when to adjust clothing when weather conditions demand it
• working in pairs to allow for workers to spot problems in other workers during cold weather conditions and to get help for workers who develop serious cold-related conditions
• providing safety training to employees so that they understand all of these important safety precautions

It’s important to make accident and illness prevention a regular part of work in cold weather. Learning how to dress for the weather and what to do in case of winter construction accidents and emergencies should also be an integral part of safety training for construction workers.
Contact us today for a free New York construction accident case evaluation by White Plains Construction Accident Attorney, Lever & Stolzenberg. Tell us your accident story and let us help you protect your rights and secure compensation.




Lever & Stolzenberg, LLP is located in White Plains, New York and serves clients throughout the state, including New York City's five boroughs (The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island) as well as Westchester County, Rockland County and Long Island. 

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