Almost every working industry has some sort of fall risk. After all, any elevated surface automatically comes along with the potential of a fall incident, and you do not need to be that far off the ground for a fall to happen. Fall accidents can occur with both feet on the level, solid ground.
Some industries have an even higher risk of fall incidents than others, though. Workers should have an awareness of this when choosing to accept work, as it is a hazard of the job.
Slip and fall statistics
The National Safety Council monitors trip, slip and fall hazards across the country. Of the incidents that occurred in 2016 alone, the government industries surprisingly had the highest number of falls. 63,350 people suffered from injuries in these sectors. The construction industries, however, had the highest number of overall fatalities with 384 deaths within the year. The unusual and extreme heights that these employees tend to work at may contribute to the high fatality rate.
The fields of health and education saw the lowest number of fatalities at 18 deaths, while wholesale trade had the lowest number of falls with 22,040 victims suffering from injury.
Leading factors in falls
Several factors lead to falls in these different industries, with some industries sharing the same risks. A few of them include:
- Outdated or old equipment
- Lack of proper safety equipment
- Lack of safety training
- Improper use of ladders
- The prioritization of speed over safety
- A fixation on deadlines over safety
Unfortunately, almost every fall that happens at work will occur due to preventable causes. This is why safety campaigns often target fall safety to raise awareness and drop the rate of these incidents occurring.