KELO Newstalk reported that on Monday a construction worker in Sioux Falls, South Dakota had to have his leg amputated after an accident at a construction site.

About the Construction Site Accident

The injured construction worker had to have his leg amputated below the knee after a steel beam broke loose and crushed his leg.

Sioux Falls Police say that the 33-year-old man was struck with the beam when he was trying to guide the beam into place with another worker.  Callers to 911 said that they saw the man hanging in air.

Sioux Falls Fire Rescue and Paramedics Plus arrived at the Sanford Health Imaginetics building site at 22nd and Grange to assist the emergency.

Construction Accident Statistics

• According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in 2014, out of 4,251 worker fatalities in private industry, 20.5% of those fatalities occurred in construction.
• Additionally, the leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites were falls, electrocution, struck by object, and caught-in/between.  These causes are referred to as the “Fatal Four” in construction.
• OSHA also calculated that by eliminating deaths caused by the ‘Fatal Four’, 508 workers’ lives in America could be saved a year.