Working Near Skylights Stats and Facts

FACTS

1. Inside, leaking skylights can cause slip and fall injuries. Patrons, customers, or guests inside the building may also be injured when something falls through a skylight, like during a construction project, or when one suddenly breaks and sends glass crashing down below.
2. Most common skylight injuries occur from outside the building when someone falls through a skylight from the roof. The glass or plastic that is used on most skylights is not designed to withstand the weight of a human being and this can lead to serious consequences.
3. The excess weight of a heavy snowfall can cause a skylight to break and severely injure anyone below.
4. Many skylight injuries are the result of product defects, lack of warning, or lack of safety barriers (barricades, exterior bars, screen grating) to safeguard those people working on roofs in and around skylights.

STATS

• The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) estimates that there are more than 120,000 roofers alone who are at risk of falling through a skylight at work.
• The level of danger that comes with working near skylights cannot be taken lightly. In fact, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a comprehensive list of 907 fall-through accidents involving skylights.
• Falling is one of the leading causes of traumatic occupational death in the United States, accounting for nearly 40% of construction worker deaths in 2017. This statistic includes a number of falls through unprotected skylights.
• Of the top 10 riskiest jobs, roofing comes in at number six. Workers in the roofing industry are three times more likely to have a fatal injury than workers in other industries, and about 50 roofers are killed on the job each year.
• Falls account for nearly ten percent of all traumatic occupational deaths. Of this total, NIOSH asserts that 28 deaths resulted from falls through skylights, and 39 deaths resulted from falls through roofs or roof openings.
• Falls account for three-fourths of all fatalities in the roofing industry.
• Within the construction industry overall, falls from roofs account for one-third of all fall-related fatalities.
• The highest frequency of fatalities due to falls is experienced in the construction industry, where fall incidents are often associated with unstable surfaces, floor holes, and roof openings (such as skylights). Injuries due to falls cause a considerable financial burden with medical costs and worker’s compensation estimated at more than $70 billion a year in the U.S.