Construction Accidents: The Dangers of MEWPs

When working in the field of construction, it is inevitable that dangerous situations will arise. Workers are asked to carry out their responsibilities at fatal heights and operate heavy machinery on a daily basis, meaning that the likelihood of an accident happening is much greater than most other lines of work. Recently, however, it has been discovered that mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) are beginning to pose an even more serious threat to construction workers across the country. MEWPs include devices like cherry pickers, scissor lifts and vehicle-mounted booms, and they allow laborers to work at needed heights.

These devices are used as a temporary means of completing construction and/or maintenance, and are designed to carry a limited amount of weight. Since the beginning of the year, however, seventeen fatal accidents involving MEWPs have already taken place across the globe—11 of these accidents occurring in the United States. Because of this, people have begun to reevaluate the safety of these seemingly dangerous devices. The types of accidents that have led to these seventeen deaths are widespread, including electrocution, mechanical malfunction, overturning, falling from the platform, and entrapment, and with such a variety of dangerous conditions, it has become increasingly difficult for manufacturers to remedy the problem.

Construction accidents account for a frightening number of injuries and fatalities each and every year, so if you or a loved one has been injured, or even killed, in a mobile elevating work platform accident, you should not hesitate to explore your options of obtaining compensation. Whether through workers' compensation benefits or a wrongful death lawsuit, you may entitled to a monetary award for the pain and suffering that you have been forced to endure. For more information, you should not hesitate to review the facts of your case with an experienced attorney immediately.