Why Injuries on Job Sites Tend to Happen Toward Completion

Why is it that accidents tend to occur towards the end of any project, from building a home to clearing a roof of dead leaves? Intuition would seem to suggest that an accident is more likely to take place at the beginning of a project—the situation and environment is new and possibly unfamiliar—but the research implies otherwise.

Hundreds of thousands of people are admitted to emergency rooms every year after falling from a ladder, Consumer Reports notes. The cause of most falls is literal over-reach. According to research, those first ascending the ladder do so with caution, but towards the end of their task, they become impatient and take riskier steps as they feel themselves becoming accustomed to their surroundings.

This confidence that grows later in projects can happen in any environment, and the statistics agree—injuries and deaths tend to happen late in the job. Normalization, or adopting looser practices for the sake of speed, is to blame for such havoc.

For this reason, those operating heavy machinery or power tools on a job site ought to be wary and patient not to succumb to normalization impulses. Concentrating on the task at hand can often make the difference between life and death.

If you suffered an injury on a job site, our Boston personal injury attorney can help you file for workers’ compensation or hold any guilty parties accountable for any negligence leading to your injury. Call our firm today.