The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has begun compiling statistics on the most common accidents and injuries that occur on construction sites nationwide. Private construction sites accounted for 828 of the 4,585 workplace deaths suffered in the U.S. in 2013, according to OSHA. This means that construction sites were the location for one in every five worker deaths.
Just four accident categories account for more than half of construction worker deaths. OSHA calls these the “Fatal Four” and says that if these four causes were eliminated, workplaces would save the lives of nearly 500 workers every year.
The “Fatal Four” include:
- Falls. Falls caused 302 deaths in construction in 2013, or 36.5 percent of all deaths. Lack of adequate fall protection is the number-one most frequently-cited construction site OSHA violation, followed by violations of the OSHA rules for scaffolding – another frequent site of construction site falls.
- Struck by object. Being struck by an object claimed 84 lives in 2013, or 10.1 percent of all fatalities.
- Electrocutions. Seventy-one workers lost their lives to electrocution in 2013, or 8.6 percent of the total.
- Being caught in or in-between objects. This accident claimed 21 lives in 2013 and also caused thousands of severe injuries.
The experienced New York construction site accident and injury lawyers at Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP focus on untangling the often complex series of events that lead to a workplace injury and on securing the compensation our injured clients deserve. Contact us today for a free and confidential case evaluation.