Work injuries and fatalities are always an unfortunate part of some businesses in New York. Workplace safety regulations and training have generally brought the number of accidents down in recent decades. But the number has bounced back in the past two years. As a result of certain events, more workers are facing injuries that are sometimes severe and even deadly. Companies have to be more careful and take greater actions to ensure that their employees can perform their jobs safely.
Statistics
Work injuries and fatalities have risen considerably over the past two years. There were more than 420 accidents for every 100,000 workers in 2020. The number in 2020 increased substantially from both 2018 and 2019. Rates of serious injuries as well as fatal injuries were also up. The most common cause of injury was contact with a form of machinery.
The reason for these increases is the labor shortage that has affected the United States and the world. In many instances, the established and experienced workers at construction and other companies have left. Their replacements are younger, more inexperienced, and more prone to making mistakes and suffering construction injuries. Companies are also more desperate to hire inexperienced personnel in order to fill gaps in their workforce.
Prevention
Construction companies need to ensure that they are still meeting basic safety standards for their employees. They may need to make them more stringent if they are experiencing high turnover rates. Companies need to review the most common types of injuries and make sure that their practices help minimize them.
They also need to ensure that their safety and human resources positions remain filled. Any safety officer who leaves their position should be replaced as quickly as possible. A slow hiring process is no excuse for an additional unnecessary accident.