FACTS
- Falls from height are still the main cause of fatal accident and injury within the workplace.
- Injuries caused by falls are more likely to be life-threatening than most other types of injuries.
- The chances of surviving a fall from more than 30 feet are low, but even six feet can prove deadly when landing on the wrong body part or surface. Spinal, head, or neck injuries are a common result of falls, regardless of the height, and can leave the worker severely disabled or lead to death.
- Falls caused by slipping. Many falls from height occur when workers slip (eg from the top of plant or off step rungs).
- Falls on stairs. A third of reported fall accidents occur on stairs. This is often due to the stairs being contaminated with water or food product, or the use of inappropriate footwear.
- Falls from FLT forks. Ensure workers do not stand on FLT forks, or pallets mounted on forks, to access heights.
STATS
- Falls from heights remain the biggest cause of occupational fatalities in the construction industry. 42% of deaths in construction involved falls; 54% of workers killed had no access to a personal fall arrest system; and 20% of fatalities occurred in the victims’ first two months on the job.
- Newest data by OSHA suggests that falls from heights will remain the leading cause of workplace fatalities in 2017/2018. As of today, 566 out of 1623 occupational deaths in the U.S. were caused by falls, which equals roughly 35% of all death causes. Not surprisingly, fall protection was the most frequently cited violation by OSHA in 2017.
- Of the 47 fatal work-related accidents reported to the HSA in 2019, one in four occurred in the construction sector. As in previous years, the most common cause of an accident leading to a fatal injury remains falling from height – accounting for 23% of all fatal accidents in the report.
- Although falls from height are not the main cause of non-fatal injuries in the industry (accounting for 19% in 2019/20), it is responsible for 47% of the fatalities recorded in 2019/20. Working at height remains the most dangerous activity in the construction industry.
- Between 2018 and 2019 there was a 15% increase of fatal fall accidents across all industries.
- In a research paper based on 32 years of data from the NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program researchers found that 54% of workers involved in a fatal accident had no access to a personal fall arrest system. Another 23% did have access to a personal fall arrest system, but did not use it.