Scaffolding allows construction workers to access hard-to-reach places and provides a stable work surface. Fortunately, most construction or repair projects using scaffolding end with safe workers and a completed project, but when a scaffolding accident occurs, it often results in severe, fall-related injuries and fatalities.
For this reason, it’s essential for construction companies to ensure that all aspects of scaffolding assembly and usage meet safety requirements. If you are an injured worker, let our St. Louis workers’ compensation attorneys advocate on your behalf.
OSHA Safety Requirements for Scaffolds
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) establishes safety standards and regulations for Missouri worksites, including guidelines for the safe use of scaffolds. According to OSHA, 65% of construction workers work frequently from scaffolds. Despite OSHA safety regulations, about 50 deaths and more than 4,500 injuries occur each year from scaffold accidents. Scaffold accidents are preventable when project managers, scaffold assemblers, inspectors, and employees adhere to the following safety requirements:
- Guardrails must be at least the minimum required height, or 38 inches in height when the guardrail is the primary means of fall protection, or 36 inches in height when fall arrest systems are used
- Requirements for cross-bracing
- Regular inspections by a competent person
- Weight support requirements of up to four times the weight of the maximum allowable load
- Platform construction guidelines for the size of planks, platforms, and gaps
- Support surface requirements for abutments, and limits on how far past the supports a platform may extend
- Guardrail or personal safety systems for platforms less than 18’ wide, and guardrail requirements when working ten feet or more above floor level
- Prohibiting mixing different metals in scaffold construction and painting wooden platforms
- Tipping restraints are required through guys or ties when appropriate
- Requirements for planks covering platforms with minimum gaps and regular inspection and maintenance
- Requirements for stable scaffold foundations and base plates
- Counterweights and tieback requirements
- Guidelines for suspension ropes
- Safe access systems and non-slip tread requirements for steps, ramps, or hook-on ladders
- Prohibiting scaffold erection near powerlines
- Prohibiting work activities on scaffolds during high winds, snow, or ice
- Requirements for toeboards, safety harnesses, and barricades
Finally, OSHA also has guidelines for the safe use of mobile scaffolds, such as ensuring that castors are locked and supports are properly braced during use.
What if a Scaffold Accident With Injuries Occurs due to OSHA Violations?
When an employee of a construction, renovation, or repair company is injured in a scaffold accident due to a fall or collapse, they typically cannot file a lawsuit against their employer. Workers’ compensation insurance compensates workers for medical expenses and a portion of their lost income, while protecting employers from lawsuits. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, the employee could file a lawsuit against a third party, such as a scaffolding installation company or the manufacturer of defective scaffold or safety equipment.
A lawsuit against a third party allows the injury victim to recover compensation for non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, which isn’t available through workers’ compensation. If a non-employee, such as a passerby, visitor, or vender suffers an injury from a dangerous scaffold, they may file a lawsuit against the construction company or other liable party under Missouri 537.765. Contributory Fault. Violating scaffold safety requirements leaves the negligent party liable for the injury victim’s damages. Most claims are resolved through a settlement from the at-fault party’s insurance company, especially when an experienced, assertive personal injury attorney represents the injury victim throughout the claim process.