Construction injuries and fatalities cost California residents $2.9 billion from 2008-10, a new Public Citizen report states. “The Price of Inaction: A Comprehensive Look at the Costs of Injuries and Fatalities in California’s Construction Industry” reports that in the 3-year time frame, there were 50,700 ccupational injuries and illnesses in the construction industry and 168 deaths.
“The economic picture is quite staggering,” says Keith Wrightson, worker safety and health advocate for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division. “We now know that construction accidents impose huge economic costs in addition to tremendous pain for individual victims.”
To help alleviate the number of injuries and fatalities, the report suggests California pass a law requiring companies to demonstrate obedience to safety standards in order to be eligible to bid for state contracts. This not only would ensure that public-sector projects are fulfilled by responsible contractors but also would provide incentives for companies to maintain clean records while working on private-sector sites.
“Implementing a stricter prequalification process for public construction projects would not address all of the industry’s safety problems,” Wrightson says. “However, such a step would help further protect workers while also yielding significant gains to the economy for minimal costs.”
