Construction Site Accident Deaths Continue to Rise Each Year

 Posted on April 22, 2021 in Workers' Compensation

It may come as a surprise to many people that the most dangerous jobs are in the construction industry. Despite only making up approximately 5 percent of the country’s workforce, construction industry accidents are responsible for more than 20 percent of all work-related deaths each year. Recent studies show that these numbers have continued to increase on a yearly basis.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has identified the “Construction Focus Four” as the top causes of construction worker injuries and deaths:

• Falls

• Caught-in or caught-between

• Struck by

• Electrocution

The Center for Construction Research and Training Report

According to a recent report from the CPWR - The Center for Construction Research and Training, the number of construction site fatalities hit the highest number ever in 2019, with the deaths of 1,102 construction workers. This was a 41 percent increase from the number of workers killed in 2011.

The organization used data obtained from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and found that 65 percent of these fatalities occurred in a Construction Focus Four accident, with falls as the number one cause. Falls to a lower level increased by more than 10 percent from the previous year, responsible for the deaths of 401 construction workers. Falls from ladders, roofs, and scaffolds also significantly increased from the prior year by 28 percent, resulting in the deaths of 146 workers.

Most Dangerous Jobs Study

Another recent report by AdvisorSmith has concluded that almost half of the 25 most dangerous jobs in the U.S. are in the construction industry. In order to measure the level of danger in each occupation, the organization measured the rate of people who die at work, using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

The 12 construction jobs that made the top 25 list, in order of hazards, were:

• Derrick workers

• Roofers

• Ironworkers

• Crane operators

• Landscaping supervisors

• Highway workers

• Mining machine operators

• Cement masons

A Will County Workers’ Compensation Attorney Can Help

If you were injured in a construction site accident, you should be entitled to worker’s compensation benefits. If your loved one was killed in a construction site accident, your family should qualify for workers’ compensation death benefits under Illinois law. The legal team at McNamara Phelan McSteen, LLC has extensive experience successfully advocating for injured workers and their families, and we will work diligently to get you the benefits you deserve. Call 815-727-0100 to schedule a free and confidential consultation with one of our Joliet, IL construction site accident lawyers.

Sources:

https://www.osha.gov/dte/outreach/construction/focus_four/

https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/21056-cpwr-report-looks-at-fatal-injury-trends-in-construction

https://advisorsmith.com/data/most-dangerous-jobs/