FACTS

From 2013 to 2017, the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries reported 297 total crane-related deaths, an average of 42 per year over this 4-year period.

1. Just over half of all fatal crane injuries involved the worker being struck by an object or equipment. About three-fifths of these cases (91 of 154) involved the worker being struck by a falling object or equipment; in 79 of these cases, the worker was struck by an object falling from or put in motion by a crane. Transportation incidents and falls to a lower level each made up about 13 and 14 percent of the remaining fatal injuries involving cranes.
2. In 2017, 43 % of fatal work injuries involving cranes took place in the private construction industry. Specialty trade contractors and heavy and civil engineering construction had the most fatal injuries involving cranes in private construction. The manufacturing industry accounted for another 24 %of crane deaths.
3. An average of 26 construction workers die each year from using aerial lifts. This is 2 to 3% of all construction deaths. On aerial lifts, the major causes are falls, electrocutions, and collapses or tip overs.
4. Electricians had the most deaths (25%), followed by construction laborers (15%), electrical power installers and repairers (13%), painters (8%), and carpenters (5%).
5. One-third of all worker deaths involving cranes in 2017 were workers in transportation and material moving occupations. Over half of these workers were crane operators. Another 31 % of worker deaths involving cranes occurred to workers in construction and extraction occupations.

STATS

Crane accidents are often the direct result of negligence of the crane-related professional or the lack of adequate operator training or experience.

• 90% of crane accidents occur due to human error
• 80% of all crane upsets are attributed to operators exceeding the crane’s operational capacity
• 54% of these incidents are the result of swinging the boom or making a lift without the outriggers full extended
• 45% of all mobile crane accidents involve electrocution that results from the crane contacting a power source during operation
• 40% the victims were struck by an object (such as an uncontrolled hoisted load or crane part)
• 80 lift and material handling equipment workers are killed each year, on average