Most New York construction sites contain numerous safety hazards. The risk of falling on a construction site is especially high, with falls causing the majority of workplace fatalities in construction. Even when a construction site fall does not prove fatal, it still has the capacity to cause a serious, potentially life-changing injury.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 33% of all fatalities that occur in the construction industry involve workers slipping, tripping or falling. Most construction site falls happen from heights, or by workers falling from a high point to a lower level.
How common fall-related deaths are in construction
Fatal falls in construction have become so common that, in 2020, more than 46% of all fatal workplace slips, trips and falls took place in the construction industry. That year, 371 construction workers died after falling on the job. The year prior, in 2019, 418 construction workers lost their lives in falls on construction sites across the nation.
How common fall-related injuries are in construction
Many American construction workers who survive falls on construction sites wind up with serious, life-altering injuries. In the private sector, in general, employees experience injuries from slips, trips and falls at a rate of 21.7 per every 10,000 people employed full-time. Yet, in construction, there are 31.4 fall-related injuries for every 10,000 construction workers working full-time. Injuries resulting from construction workers falling to a lower level occurred at a rate of 15.7 per every 10,000 full-time construction workers, while these injuries occurred at a rate of 5.1 per every 10,000 full-time workers in the private sector in its entirety.
Many construction site fall-related injuries and fatalities are preventable. Utilizing appropriate fall protection is critical to help prevent these fall-related injuries and fatalities.
