What I Saw in a Parking Lot: A Workers’ Compensation Claim in the Making

Sometimes workplace risk is easier to recognize when you are not looking for it.

Recently, I was walking through a parking lot in New Jersey where construction work was underway. Two workers were leaning over an area of pavement using what appeared to be pneumatic jackhammers, or pavement breakers, to break up asphalt and concrete.

Dust and debris were flying everywhere. As I walked past, my immediate reaction was to hold my breath.

Then I looked at the two workers. Neither appeared to be wearing any respiratory protection.

That brief encounter stayed with me because some time ago I sat in on an OSHA 10-hour construction safety course taken by my partner. I was struck not only by how many things can go wrong on a construction site, but by how much planning is required to prevent them. Excavation and demolition work can involve equipment, utilities, traffic, falling material, airborne contaminants, protective systems, personal protective equipment and workers performing different tasks in close proximity to one another.

There are a lot of moving parts.

After sitting through that course, I found myself looking differently at construction sites. Instead of simply seeing a crew at work, I began noticing the potential hazards around them and thinking about the measures that could prevent an accident or occupational illness.

That is what happened in this parking lot.

The Injury That Does Not Happen Today

When we think about construction accidents, we often think about the immediate event: a worker falls from a ladder, is struck by equipment, suffers a lifting injury or is injured using a power tool.

Dust exposure is different.

There may be no ambulance. There may be no accident report. The worker may finish the shift and return to work the next morning.

But cutting, drilling, grinding or breaking concrete can generate respirable crystalline silica dust. Because the particles are extremely small, workers may inhale them without realizing the extent of their exposure. Repeated or significant exposure can contribute to serious occupational disease, including silicosis and other respiratory conditions.

The consequences may not become apparent until years later.

That makes early hazard control particularly important. An employer cannot wait for the worker to develop respiratory symptoms before deciding whether the work should have been performed differently.

PPE Is Only Part of the Equation

My first reaction was simple: Why aren't they wearing masks?

But effective construction safety requires more than handing a worker a mask.

The appropriate response to airborne dust begins with identifying the hazard and determining how the exposure should be controlled. Depending upon the work being performed, that may include engineering controls such as wet methods or dust collection, appropriate work practices, restricting exposure to others in the area, and respiratory protection when required.

And when respiratory protection is necessary, simply providing a respirator is not enough. Workers need to understand when it must be used, how it is properly worn and maintained, and why the protection matters.

That is where safety training becomes practical rather than theoretical.

The cost of appropriate protective equipment, training and effective dust-control measures should be considered against the potential cost of occupational disease — not only in dollars, but in the health of the worker.

I Intended to Say Something

I had an appointment and could not stop at that moment. I decided that when I came back out, I would say something to the workers.

By the time I returned, they were gone.

I have thought about that missed opportunity ever since.

Perhaps precautions were being taken that I could not see. Perhaps the exposure was limited. I certainly did not conduct an OSHA inspection from the parking lot.

But that is not really the point.

The scene was a reminder of how easily workplace exposure can become ordinary. When workers perform the same task every day, dust, noise, awkward positions and other hazards can become part of the background. Something that would cause a passerby to hold her breath may barely register with someone who encounters it every day.

That is precisely why employers need safety procedures that do not depend upon an individual worker recognizing the danger in the moment. Effective safety programs anticipate routine exposures before workers become accustomed to them.

Prevention Is Also Workers’ Compensation Strategy

For employers, carriers and risk professionals, workers’ compensation strategy should not begin when a claim is filed.

It should begin before there is a claim.

A relatively modest investment in hazard recognition, training, appropriate equipment and enforcement of safety procedures may prevent an injury or occupational disease that otherwise results in years of medical treatment, lost time, litigation and workers’ compensation exposure.

Construction will always involve risk. The goal is not to eliminate every risk, which is not realistic, but to identify and control those that can reasonably be managed. It is to identify the risks that can reasonably be controlled and make sure that the appropriate protections are actually being used.

Sometimes it takes only a walk through a parking lot to see why that matters.

Asch Workers' Comp Strategy assists employers, carriers, and other stakeholders in identifying workers' compensation exposures and developing practical risk-management strategies. Effective claims management begins long before a claim is filed.