Construction Accident Leads to Leg Amputation

According to KDLT News, a construction worker is recovering from a leg amputation that resulted from an accident while on the job.

Details about the Construction Accident

KDLT News is reporting that last month, a construction worker from Fargo, Vincent Saganitso, aged 33, was injured while working on the Sanford Hospital expansion in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
A steel beam that was being lifted by a crane fell on Saganitso’s leg while working on the job. The contact between the fallen beam and the man’s leg was so strong that Saganitso’s leg had to be amputated. According to Saganitso, “It was windy on that day and the beam was swinging back and forth and a strap gave out on the sharp edge of the beam.” He also stated that when he saw the beam coming down, he had tried to jump out of the way. With that, he says that his leg was gushing out quite a bit of blood, and within minutes he was rushed to the hospital’s emergency room and immediately taken into surgery.

Upon awaking up in the emergency room, Saganitso came to realize just how severe his injuries were. The doctors had no choice but to amputate the lower half of his right leg. After coming to find out the life changing news, Saganitso says he couldn’t stop crying and there was a combination of both physical and emotional pain. “There are things I can’t do anymore which is hard,” he says. “I think I have to change my occupation now – do something else, push myself, which is hard on some days.”

Despite the tragic event, Saganitso has expressed some positive aspects, such as his supportive and helpful girlfriend being at his side, as well as his family. According to Saganitso, after he is fully healed up, he will be getting fitted for a prosthetic leg and he’ll be closer to the life he had just one month ago. OSHA is still investigating the incident and they have six months to decide whether any violation of safety and health standards occurred at the time of the accident.

Construction Injury Statistics According to EHS Today

• The “fatal four” injuries that contributed to 57 percent of the fatalities in the construction industry in 2012 were falls, caught between objects, electrocutions and struck by object.
• Of the 57%, 36% were from falls, 10% were from being struck by objects, 9% were from electrocutions, and 2% were from being caught between objects.
• Eliminating the “fatal four” would save the lives of 435 American construction workers every year.
• Between 2002 and 2012, 19.5% of all worker deaths were from the construction industry.
• In terms of types of construction, between 2003 and 2012, 48% of construction deaths were in specialty trade, 17% in engineering, 16% in building, 12% in equipment and 7% finishing.
• In 2012, 775 construction fatalities occurred.