The specialist legal services company surveyed 500 people that work in physical construction jobs across the UK to determine just how safe they believe their workplaces are.
When asked, 40% of those surveyed said they sometimes feel unsafe while at work and 41% said they have been made to work in unsafe conditions before.
Shockingly, of those asked 38% believe that a serious accident “is inevitable” on the sites they’ve worked on, with almost half (48%) stating that their boss could have done more to improve site safety.
The most common injuries that those working on construction sustained in the workplace are:
Even though strides have been taken in recent years to improve the safety of people on construction sites, this remains a high-risk industry and accounts for a large percentage of fatal and major injuries.
In fact, data released by the Health and Safety Executive revealed that 30 of the 123 work-related deaths in 2021/2022 occurred in the sector.
With that in mind, Slater and Gordon is calling on those within the industry to take a pledge to ensure that health and safety on sites is top priority. The firm has also created a free toolkit of resources for people within the construction industry that includes a template letter for their employer to formally report an accident, and information on their legal rights if they do have an accident on site and how to get the help they need.
Nicholas Hagi Savva, Senior Associate at Slater and Gordon, said: “While we recognise that people do work hard to improve safety on construction sites, our research shows that they are still an extremely dangerous place.
“As a law firm that specializes in personal injury cases, we have seen first-hand the devastating consequences of accidents on construction sites.
“We are committed to holding those responsible for construction site accidents accountable, however, we would much rather see these accidents prevented in the first place.
“Often, those who have been injured whilst at work aren’t sure of their rights and what their next steps should be. We want to make sure everyone has access to the information they need to make informed decisions and our toolbox of content will do exactly that.”
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