Falls, Electrocutions, and Struck-By Injuries Explained

Construction workers regularly face hazards involving heights, electrical systems, moving vehicles, falling materials, and heavy equipment. Falls, electrocutions, and struck-by accidents are among the most serious dangers on a jobsite, and each can cause severe injuries, permanent disabilities, or death. A serious construction injury may lead to surgery, missed work, lost earning ability, and worry about mounting medical bills.

After an accident, a construction injury attorney can help identify available benefits, preserve evidence, and determine whether someone outside the employer contributed to the harm. At Charles E. Boyk Law Offices, we listen, explain the process, and pursue appropriate payment sources for damages and injuries.

Hurt on a construction site? Call Charles E. Boyk Law Offices today for a free, confidential consultation.

Why Do These Construction Hazards Demand Attention?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration identifies falls, electrocutions, struck-by hazards, and caught-in-or-between hazards as its Focus Four construction risks leading to accidents. These dangers describe different mechanisms of injury but often share preventable causes, such as missing safeguards, rushed work, inadequate training, or poor access control.

A single worksite may contain all three dangers at once. A roofing worker can fall through an uncovered opening, a laborer can contact an overhead power line, or a road worker can be hit by a reversing dump truck. Because so many parties may share responsibility on a project, from contractors to property owners, determining how an injury occurred requires a careful review of the whole site.

Not sure what caused your worksite accident? Let our team investigate. Call Charles E. Boyk Law Offices today!

How Do Falls Cause Construction Injuries?

A person on a construction site does not need to fall from a great height to suffer catastrophic harm. Workers can be hurt in accidents involving falls from ladders, roofs, or aerial lifts. Others are injured near unfinished stairways or open trenches, or when uneven surfaces, ice, or spilled materials create unsafe footing.

Depending on the height and how the body lands, construction fall injuries may include:

Broken wrists, arms, or legs
Traumatic brain injuries
Spinal cord and back injuries
Shoulder tears and joint damage
Pelvic fractures
Internal bleeding
Permanent nerve damage

Even after hospital treatment ends, an injured worker may need physical therapy, home assistance, or vocational support, and some cannot return to the same occupation.

Suffered a workplace fall? Charles E. Boyk Law Offices is here to help.

What Safety Failures Can Lead to Construction Falls?

Many construction site falls happen when basic safety measures are missing or misused. The work area itself can also show whether a contractor, supervisor, or another party ignored a known hazard.

Common safety failures include:

Missing or incomplete guardrails around elevated work areas
Uncovered or poorly marked openings in floors and roofs
Ladders placed on unstable surfaces or used for the wrong task
Scaffolding that is overloaded, damaged, or improperly assembled
Fall-arrest systems that are unavailable, defective, or incorrectly anchored
Poor housekeeping that leaves tools, cords, or materials in walkways

These hazards may point to deeper problems with site inspections, worker training, or the enforcement of safety procedures. Because a contractor may repair a guardrail, move a ladder, or clear debris before investigators arrive, evidence can vanish fast. Photographs and video, along with coworker statements and inspection records, can help show what the site looked like when the worker was hurt.

Was a missing safeguard to blame? Call Charles E. Boyk Law Offices today, and let us find out what went wrong.

Understanding Electrocution and Electrical Contact Injuries

Construction workers can suffer injuries from electrical dangers found in overhead lines, damaged cords, and unsecured panels. Electrocution refers to a fatal electrical exposure, while nonfatal contact can still cause severe burns, nerve damage, or other lasting harm.

Electrical accidents on construction sites may result from:

Contact between cranes, lifts, ladders, or metal materials and overhead power lines
Failure to de-energize equipment before repair or maintenance
Missing lockout or tagout procedures
Damaged insulation, plugs, tools, or extension cords
Wet conditions near electrical equipment
Improper grounding or absent ground-fault protection
Failure to identify underground lines before digging

The path of electricity through the body shapes the injury. Current can damage tissue beneath the skin even when the entry wound looks small, disrupt the heart rhythm, impair breathing, and injure nerves that control movement or sensation. An electrical arc can also create extreme heat, pressure, and flying molten material.

Anyone who suffers a significant electrical exposure should go to the hospital, even if they seem fine, because some complications are not immediately obvious. An investigation often looks at who controlled the system and whether it was safely de-energized. Evidence such as utility markings, maintenance logs, and equipment testing can help answer those questions.

Suffered burn or shock injuries on the job? Reach out to Charles E. Boyk Law Offices today for a free, confidential case review.

What Counts as a Struck-By Construction Accident?

A struck-by injury happens when an object, vehicle, or piece of equipment hits a worker. This differs from a caught-in-or-between event, where the person is squeezed or pinned. The distinction matters when investigators identify the hazard and the safety measures that should have applied.

Struck-by construction accidents commonly involve four sources:

Flying objects, such as fragments released by power tools
Falling objects, including unsecured tools, bricks, lumber, or suspended loads
Swinging objects, such as crane loads that shift or rotate
Rolling vehicles or equipment, including trucks, forklifts, loaders, and excavators

A hard hat helps, but it cannot replace controlled access zones, toe boards, or secure material storage. Workers on foot are especially vulnerable around equipment with blind spots or faulty backup alarms and cameras.

These accidents can cause serious harm, including traumatic brain injuries, facial fractures, eye damage, and amputations. To prove what happened, useful evidence may include equipment telematics, operator certifications, and vehicle-camera footage.

Hit by equipment or falling material on a jobsite? Call Charles E. Boyk Law Offices today to protect your recovery.

Workers’ Compensation and Possible Third-Party Claims

Ohio workers’ compensation provides benefits for qualifying injuries that arise out of and occur in the course of employment. Coverage may include medical treatment, temporary wage loss, and rehabilitation. It can also address permanent impairment or provide death benefits to eligible family members. Best of all, workers’ compensation usually does not require proof that the employer acted negligently.

Deadlines still matter. Under Ohio Revised Code § 4123.84, an injury claim is generally barred unless notice identifying the injured body parts is provided within one year, subject to the statute’s specific provisions. Reporting the accident promptly and describing every affected body part can help prevent avoidable disputes.

Workers’ compensation may not be your only source of benefits. A third-party claim may be possible when someone other than the employer or a protected coworker caused the injury. A negligent subcontractor, property owner, or equipment manufacturer may all qualify as third parties. For example, a worker struck by a defective lift part may have a product claim, while a worker hit by another company’s truck may have a negligence claim.

Third-party claims can include losses that workers’ compensation does not provide, such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Reimbursement and subrogation issues may arise, though, when workers’ compensation benefits and a third-party recovery involve the same injury. Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.931 addresses the subrogation rights connected to such recoveries, and an attorney from our firm can review how these rules apply to your claim.

In one case, our client was severely hurt on a concrete-pouring job when another company restarted an aerial concrete pump without clearing hardened concrete from the hose. We secured a $325,000 settlement for him. Please note: Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Each case depends on its specific facts. You can read about more outcomes on our case results page.

Wondering if you have more than a workers’ compensation claim? Call Charles E. Boyk Law Offices for a free review.

Practical Steps After a Serious Worksite Injury

Your health comes first. Seek emergency care when needed, follow medical instructions, and report new symptoms. Then take reasonable steps to protect information before conditions change:

Report the accident to the employer and request a copy of the report
Identify every injured body part and describe how the event happened accurately
Photograph the location, equipment, materials, and visible injuries when safely possible
Save damaged clothing, protective gear, tools, and related documents
Obtain names and contact information for witnesses
Keep medical, mileage, wage, and work-restriction records
Avoid signing broad releases before understanding their effect
Speak with an attorney about workers’ compensation and third-party options

Do not assume an accident involving falls, electrocutions, or struck-by hazards was unavoidable just because construction work is dangerous. The real question is whether required precautions were provided and followed, and a prompt investigation can reveal unsafe practices that were not obvious at first.

Not sure what to do next? Charles E. Boyk Law Offices can guide you. Arrange a confidential consultation with our legal team free of charge.

Contact an Ohio Construction Injury Attorney for Guidance

Falls, electrocutions, and struck-by accidents can leave construction workers injured and facing long recoveries, lost income, and lasting physical limitations. Every case is different, so it helps to understand how the accident happened and which claims may be available. Charles E. Boyk Law Offices can investigate the worksite, coordinate your claims, deal with the insurers, and document the full effect of your damages and injuries.