Workers’ Compensation Lawyer

Workplace accidents due to a lack of proper safety training

On behalf of Godwin and Rubin posted in Workplace Accidents on Friday, November 2, 2018.

Construction workers in California face numerous risks on the job on a daily basis. Safety training and safety precautions are both used to attempt to limit the chance of an accident. If safety training is absent or inadequate, workplace accidents can be the unfortunate result.

A construction worker was seriously injured by a nail gun at a residential construction site while working on the frame of a house. He was working with an air-pressure powered nail gun and had his finger on the trigger while he was carrying it. The nail gun accidentally discharged, and he shot himself in the arm.

An investigation by California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) found that the employer had failed to give its workers hands-on training instructing them to carry the guns only by the handle and without a finger on the trigger. The construction company faces penalties of $225,500 for failure to adequately train employees on the safe use of air-pressure powered tools. Cal/OSHA also found that the contractor had been previously cited for 34 nail-gun injuries since 2016.

Construction work does carry a certain amount of inherent risk, and accidents can happen. If a construction worker in California suffers an injury due to an accident that he or she feels may have been the result of inadequate safety measures or a lack of training, a conversation with a workers’ compensation attorney is warranted. A lawyer can review the facts of workplace accidents and help the client to understand his or her rights under workers’ compensation law.