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Fatal falls in the U.S. residential construction industry
Author(s) -
Dong Xiuwen Sue,
Wang Xuanwen,
Largay Julie A.,
Platner James W.,
Stafford Erich,
Cain Chris Trahan,
Choi Sang D.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22341
Subject(s) - medicine , environmental health , occupational safety and health , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , medical emergency , pathology
Background Falls from heights remain the most common cause of workplace fatalities among residential construction workers in the United States. Methods This paper examines patterns and trends of fall fatalities in U.S. residential construction between 2003 and 2010 by analyzing two large national datasets. Results Almost half of the fatalities in residential construction were from falls. In the residential roofing industry, 80% of fatalities were from falls. In addition, about one‐third of fatal falls in residential construction were among self‐employed workers. Workers who were older than 55 years, were Hispanic foreign‐born, or employed in small establishments (1–10 employees) also had higher proportions of fatal falls in residential construction compared to those in nonresidential construction. Conclusions The findings suggest that fall safety within the residential construction industry lags behind commercial construction and industrial settings. Fall prevention in residential construction should be enhanced to better protect construction workers in this sector. Am. J. Ind. Med. 57:992–1000, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.