Excavation Safety and Personal Injury Claims

There are several hazards associated with excavations and there are three main areas which can cause fatal and serious injuries. These tend to be when the excavator is either;

Moving – this could involve striking a pedestrian when reversing. An employee might be aware to look out for machinery, but a member of the public might not be aware to look out for the truck

Slewing – which involves someone (an employee or member of the public) becoming trapped between the excavator and a fixed structure or the vehicle

Working – this can occur when the moving bucket or other attachment strikes a pedestrian or if any attachments fall from the excavator machinery.

All the above are examples of excavator hazards that can happen on a construction site. There are ways in which the risks can be controlled to avoid an accident claim and these are looked at in the next few posts.

Excavations and Accident Claim Quiz

Health and safety processes are vital to protect the general public and workers during excavation work. If the processes are followed this can ensure everyone is safe and although there may still be an accident claim, these will be reduced.

Which one of these is not a consideration for contractors before they start work on excavations?

Ground conditions

Underground structures

Water courses

Existing foundations for other buildings

Weather conditions for excavating

Excavations and Compensation Claims

Excavations involve digging underground and this can bring another level of accident awareness and precautions that need to be observed.

Avoid Collapse of Excavation
If you are working underground there is an element that you need to be aware of and that is ensuring the excavation does not collapse and cause untold problems and complications. Workers can get trapped underground and therefore the excavation needs to be supported to reduce this risk. This can be done using a temporary supports before any digging work begins or ensuring the sides of the excavation pit are safe and creating a reduced risk of collapse which may result in compensation claims.

Falling Into the Excavation
The area must be guarded off to prevent people falling into the area. If there are no barriers or constraints then people are more likely to fall into the area and this may result in a personal injury claim, as a fall can cause injuries.

Other Buildings
When digging out the trench or excavation pit make sure that any surrounding buildings are not affected. Buildings that are close to each might be reliant on the same footings and if you are investigating and changing footings to one building this might affect others. Dislodging footings can cause subsidance and cause other problems for nearby buildings.