4 Leading Causes of Construction Workplace Injuries
Construction workers build our roads, houses, and repair and maintain our nation’s physical infrastructure. This work includes many hazardous tasks and conditions. Construction workers incur the most fatal injuries of any industry in the private sector.
Construction sites are among the most dangerous workplaces in the United States. While the construction industry provides employment to millions of people, thousands of construction workers are injured or killed every year, and many construction site injuries lead to hospitalization, permanent disability or death. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), construction is responsible for the greatest number of deaths of any private work sector. According to OSHA, 20.5 percent (874) of all worker fatalities in private industry were construction-related in 2014.
Out of worker fatalities in private industry in calendar year 2014, 874 or 20.5% were in construction. That is, one in five worker deaths last year were in construction. The leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites were:
- Falls — 349 out of 874 total deaths in construction in 2014 (39.9%)
- Electrocutions — 74 (8.5%)
- Struck by Object — 73 (8.4%)
- Caught-in/between — 12 (1.4%)
The BLS reports that eliminating the fatal four alone would save 508 workers’ lives in America every year.
As an employee employed in New Hampshire sustaining an at-work injury, you have certain rights. Go to the applicable link Injured Employee Benefits for more information or you can call (603) 271-3176 to speak to someone directly at the Department of Labor regarding subject matter pertaining to Workplace Injuries.
