One in four fall-related deaths involve a height of 10’ or less
Although falls continue to be a concern, just-released Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) figures on 2011 U.S. fatal occupational injuries show that fatal work injuries in the construction industry declined to 721 in 2011 from 774 in 2010 -- a decrease of 7 percent. This was the fifth consecutive year of lower fatality counts. Fatal construction injuries are down nearly 42 percent since 2006.
Those numbers are part of the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program conducted annually by the BLS, which also shows that 4,609 fatal work injuries were recorded in the U.S. in 2011, down from 4,690 in 2010. The rate of fatal work injury for U.S. workers in 2011 was 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, as compared to a final rate of 3.6 per 100,000 for 2010.