Working outside on a construction site during a busy time of year, you may encounter more problems than you expect.
Accidents can happen without warning, especially when you are walking on tall scaffolds or working around heavy pieces of equipment. One particular injury that greatly impacts your life is spinal cord trauma.
Falls and trips
According to the Mayo Clinic, you may not know you have spinal cord trauma immediately after an accident or fall. If someone in your workplace leaves a hammer or other item on a walkway that should be clear at all times, then you could accidentally slip on it and fall to the ground.
Since scaffolds and some ledges are multiple feet above the ground, this could result in damage to the vertebrae in your back.
Large vehicles
One difference you may face while working in an active construction zone is that vehicles and equipment are louder and harder to stop. If someone operating one of these pieces of equipment does not check for other workers around them, they could crush you.
A heavy truck or bulldozer could press you up against a wall or another place and leave you with spinal cord problems. In the weeks following the accident, you may not even realize the extent of this crush injury.
Collapsing scaffolds
When you climb up on a scaffold, you are trusting that others built it correctly and a competent person inspected it. When your coworkers do not follow these steps, this structure can collapse under your weight as you try to do your job and leave you with back problems.
Being aware of how common spinal cord injuries are at a construction site is important if you are wondering what steps to take next.
