Falling 25 feet to the ground from a roof, being struck in the head by a steel beam as it is transported across a worksite, or getting hit by a vehicle moving supplies–these are only a few examples of why the construction industry has the greatest number of both fatal and nonfatal traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) among U.S. workplaces. From 2003 to 2010, 2,210 construction workers died because of a TBI (a rate of 2.6 per 100,000 FTE workers). These deaths represented 25% of all construction fatalities and 24% of all occupational TBI fatalities during the same period.
The numbers are tragic but there is some good news: the rate of fatal TBIs in construction decreased by 6.2% each year between 2003 and 2010. Some of this decline can be attributed to the overall decline in the rates of work-related deaths and fatal TBIs (including that are both work- and nonwork-related). Another reason is that spending and employment in construction decreased when the economic recession hit in 2007 resulting in fewer workers exposed to construction hazards. Despite these declines, TBIs remain one of the major causes of deaths in the construction industry.