Pennsylvania’s construction workers deal with dangerous work environments every time they show up to work, and if you are among those making their living in the construction industry, you may have a solid understanding of just how common aches, pains and injuries are in your line of work. At Douglas, Joseph & Olson, we understand that the majority of today’s construction site deaths happen because of the same four factors, and we have helped many people who suffered construction site injuries, or lost loved ones in construction accidents, seek recourse.
Per the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, more than a fifth of all private sector work-related fatalities that occurred in 2017 happened on American construction sites, making construction work one of the most dangerous ways to make a living. Because so many construction worker deaths result from the same set of circumstances, estimates indicate that finding ways to eliminate what are known as construction’s “Fatal Four” would save almost 600 construction worker lives every year.
Just what are the four top killers of today’s construction workers? Coming in as the single biggest cause of construction deaths in 2017 were falls, which accounted for more than 39% of all deaths industry-wide that year. The second-biggest killer of construction workers in 2017, meanwhile, was getting struck by objects, causing 8.2% of deaths, while electrocutions came in at number three, causing more than 7% of 2017’s construction industry fatalities.
The fourth-most-common cause of construction worker deaths in America in 2017 involved construction workers who find themselves compressed or otherwise caught in between objects, machinery or something similar. You can find out more about work injuries on our webpage.