Personal Injury Law

Kitsap Naval Base Injury Highlights Safety Issues

By Michael Myers

Almost all construction site injuries are preventable. The Washington Department of Labor and Industries has promulgated an extensive and detailed set of rules regarding construction site safety. Contractors who follow these rules have few if any injured workers. Those who don't have significantly more on the job injuries.

KOMO News reported this morning that:

[A] 24-year-old contractor for Tutor-Saliba was working with a team moving concrete pylons when she somehow got trapped by one of them, injuring her legs, said a shipyard spokesperson.

The general contractor on a construction site is responsible for making sure that its workers are safe and that the workers of its subcontractors are safe. While the workers compensation statute limits claims that workers can bring directly against their employers, employees of subcontractors have the right to sue general contractors for failing to follow safety guidelines and provide a safe workplace.

There are numerous regulations in the Washington Administrative Code designed to prevent crush injuries. It is unclear whether they were followed at the Kitsap Naval Base.

Full post as published by Seattle Personal Injury Lawyer on November 25, 2009 (boomark / email).