Incident at the Construction Company - Essay Example

Fall at WorkMohammed Salem is a 38-year old construction worker employed in a large construction company in Florida. He had suffered two occupational injuries in the course of his work. On the 25th of September 1995 he was working on the second floor of a high building. He was working from a raised area which was a section of scaffolding. He tried to maneuver his way down from the platform. Unfortunately, he lost his footing and he fell backwards. Mohammed immediately lost consciousness so was not able to remember the complete details of the accident.

The assistant building supervisor gave Mohammed first aid and rushed to the nearby hospital. A report of the accident was furnished soon after. Because of the injuries he sustained Mohammed requested for a one-week leave. He suffered from a mild head injury, plus wounds and bruises to his elbows and legs. He also experienced persistent lightheadedness after the accident. Because he was not able to go to work for duration of time, he lost an income. The company immediately accepted legal liability and cooperated with OSHA representatives.

Mohammed was given $7,000 accident compensation with regard to his occupational injuries and loss of income. Mohammed soon recovered from his injuries and started looking for another work. But because of his specialization and experience, he was not able to make it outside of the construction industry. Another construction company hired him as a fitter. On August 1997 Mohammed was working with other workers at a height of more or less 25-30 feet, tightening top covers of a massive boiler.

In order to access the top portion of the boiler, he uses a ladder. Unfortunately, one of the covers had a crack which made it difficult for Mohammed to tighten. Thus, he applied excessive force to tighten the cracked cover. Yet, while he did so, the bottom of the ladder slipped and he fell to the floor. Mohammed sustained back injuries, plus a spinal fracture and wounds to his hips and legs. He was forced to take an indefinite leave to recover but, because of the severity of his injuries and wounds, he was not able to go back to work for the construction company and had to look for a less labor-intensive occupation.

This second occupational accident left Mohammed with permanently limited physical activity and currently necessitates help with tasks he could do independently in the past, like woodwork and farming. His former hobbies like exercising and going to the park are incapacitated. Yet again, Mohammed was able to get accident compensation from the construction company with the help of his personal lawyer, who is experienced in the cases of occupational accidents. OSHA once again intervened and investigated the company’s protective practices and regulations.

The company took legal responsibility for Mohammed’s accident. Mohammed is now a freelancer, performing less physical tasks. ReferencesGranger, L. (2010). Best Practices in Occupational Health, Safety, Workers Compensation and Claims Management for Employers: Assisting Employers in Navigating ‘The Road to Zero’. Florida: Universal Publishers.