New Hampshire construction workers like you face many risks on the job. Some of these risks are inherent with the work you do. Others are unfortunately avoidable and only happen due to negligence and sloppiness. 

Falls often fit under the latter category. As often as falls happen, almost every fall incident happened under preventable circumstances. 

Statistics of falls in the field

The National Safety Council looks at the risks that falls present in the construction field. In 2016, 48,060 people ended up injured due to falls and 697 of them died. Of those people, 24,700 injuries and 384 deaths got attributed to the construction field. This makes your field the highest single risk for fall incidents. 

Most of these incidents happen due to a combination of the following: 

• Old or broken equipment 
• A lack of adherence to safety regulations 
• Improper safety training of employees 
• Forcing employees to rush through their work 
• Not using appropriate tools for the job at hand 

The root causes of fall accidents

You can trace many incidents back to upper management levels. For example, some companies want to cut corners and save costs. To do this, they may continue using outdated equipment that is no longer up to safety standards. Likewise, they may rush employees to stay on top of a brutal production schedule. 

Due to the preventable nature of falls, it is common to open up investigations to see what caused them. If you believe your workplace is contributing to fall incidents through negligence or other means, you may want to make a report. Doing so can save you or your co-workers from fall incidents in the future.