FACTS

1. Falls from height are still the main cause of fatal accident and injury within the workplace.
2. Injuries caused by falls are more likely to be life-threatening than most other types of injuries.
3. 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.
4. Falls caused by slipping. Many falls from height occur when workers slip (eg from the top of plant or off step rungs).
5. 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.
6. 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.