Falls are a real threat to workers in all sorts of jobs here in Indiana and Illinois. Today, there is a recognized crisis in our country where more and more workers are facing an unacceptably high risk of dying from a work accident.
One of the most serious risks here is the danger of falling on the worksite, particularly for those employed in the construction industry as well as those at work in warehousing, manufacturing, utilities, and agri-business. See: Construction Worker’s Risk of Dying on the Job Jumps 41% According to New Report; and AFL-CIO 2021 Report: Shocking Risk of Dying on the Job for Workers in Indiana and Illinois.
From the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”):
Falls are among the most common causes of serious work-related injuries and deaths. Employers must set up the work place to prevent employees from falling off of overhead platforms, elevated work stations or into holes in the floor and walls.
Fall Safety Protections Are Commonly Violated by Employers
There are specific fall protection regulations that mandate employers provide fall protection for workers. They apply (1) at elevations of four feet in general industry workplaces; (2) five feet in shipyards; (3) six feet in the construction industry; (4) eight feet in longshoring operations; and (5) in any circumstance regardless of elevation where the worker is required to work over dangerous equipment and machinery.
Sadly, employers are notorious for disregarding safety regulations designed to keep workers safe from a fall injury on the industrial worksite. It is not a secret or a mystery on how to protect against falls.
The truth is that all too often, companies simply fail to do what is needed to keep their people safe from falling while at work. They do not obey the fall protection regulations and they disrespect industrial fall safety standards. People are hurt or killed as a result.
As an example, in the Top 10 List of the most frequently cited workplace safety standards published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) for fiscal year 2021 are several safety standards dedicated to fall safety. Of particular concern for safety agencies and those advocating for worker victims is that three of the top five most common safety violations deal with fall accidents:
- Fall Protection – General Requirements (29 C.F.R. 1926.501) (first on the list);
- Ladders (29 C.F.R. 1926.1053) (third on the list);
- Scaffolding (29 C.F.R. 1926.451) (fourth on the list); and
- Fall Protection – Training Requirements (29 C.F.R. 1926.503)(seventh on the list).
In 2022, the trend only escalated with the general requirement for fall protection remaining the most-often cited regulation violation for the past twelve (12) years. Read, Fall Protection on the Job Remains Top OSHA Safety Violation for 12th Straight Year.
Worker Accident Risks in a Workplace Fall: Catastrophic Injuries or Death
Injuries can be life-altering or deadly after someone slips or trips and falls on the job. Workers hurt in a work accident fall can suffer bodily injuries that include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Internal trauma (organ damage; bleeding; bruising; etc.)
- Spinal cord injuries
- Fractures
- Amputations or loss of use of limb
- Death.
For more, read Work-Related Traumatic Brain Injury (WR-TBI) Dangers Facing Industrial Workers in Illinois and Indiana; Internal Injuries After an Accident Can Be Silent and Deadly; and Traumatic Amputations in Industrial Accidents.
Employer Duty of Care: Five Ways to Protect Workers from Fall Accidents
Fall protection systems vary depending upon the industry involved and the type of work being performed by the worker. Each worksite should have one or more of these fall protection systems in place to protect against fall accidents on the job. Proper training should be provided to all workers on each of the systems used on the worksite.
Overall, these fall protection systems can be divided into three different types. First of all, there is fall prevention, where a barrier keeps the worker from getting too close to the fall hazard. Another fall protection system involves fall restraints, where the worker is tied off in some way, to prevent a fall. Finally, there are fall arrests, which do not prevent a fall but instead stop or slow (“decelerate”) a worker who is falling in mid-fall, protecting against a sudden blow.
On most jobsites in Indiana and Illinois, workers should expect to have more than one of these fall protection systems in place and maintained by their employer. As a general rule, workers should see the following on the work site:
1. Harnesses, Lanyards, Lifelines
Harnesses, lanyards, and lifelines are all equipment provided to the individual worker to protect them against a fall. They work to decelerate the energy in any fall that may happen, reducing the risk of serious bodily injury.
- For more, read: Deadly Falls and Safety Harness Failures on Illinois or Indiana Work Sites and Fall Protection in Construction: Preventing Deadly Accidents on the Job.
2. PPE: Shoes, Helmets, and Hard Hats
Personal protective equipment (“PPE”) on the worksite must be provided to each worker who is at risk of a fall injury. These include shoes with skid-resistant soles and proper fit. Head protection should be provided, as well, in the form of helmets or hard hats in the style and model best suited for the site and the tasks being performed by the worker.
- For more, read: Shocking New Federal Rule for Construction Worker Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); Serious or Deadly Workplace Accidents: Evolving Legal Standards for PPE Work Shoes; and Hard Hats and Worker Injuries on the Job in Illinois and Indiana.
3. Lifts and Scaffolds
Aerial lifts, man lifts, and scissor lifts are all ways to get workers up to a height in order to perform their jobs and are considered to be safer than ladders or scaffolds in some situations. For instance, OSHA recommends the use of lifts and scaffolds for roofers in the construction industry in either roof construction or roof repair. See, “Reducing Falls During Residential Roof Construction: Roof Repair,” published by OSHA.
- For more, read: Aerial Lift Accidents: Rising Risk to Workers in Indiana or Illinois and Scaffolding Accidents in Indiana and Illinois.
4. Guiderails, Guardrails, Toe-boards
For any worker performing tasks in or near heavy machinery or equipment, such as a conveyor belt in a manufacturing or food processing plant, there should be protections against falling that include guiderails and toe-boards. Guardrails protect workers against falling into hatchways, floor holes, and the like. See 29 CFR §1910.29.
- For more, read: Industrial Conveyor Belt Accidents in Illinois and Indiana and Dangers Facing Workers in Illinois Food Processing Industry.
5. Housekeeping and Maintenance
Employers need to know the details of their worksite and all the potential fall hazards their workers may face. Regular housekeeping needs to occur to minimize risks like slippery surfaces. Machines and equipment need to be maintained, repaired, and replaced before they pose a danger to anyone in a fall.
Employer duties of safety and care also include having an established routine of employer walkthroughs of the entire workplace, looking for safety concerns that may reveal themselves while actual work is happening on the site.
- For more, read Workplace Housekeeping and Serious Accidents on the Job: Duty of Care; Serious or Fatal Slip and Fall Injuries: The Employer’s Duty of Care; and Supervisors, Safety, and Work Accidents on the Job in Illinois and Indiana.
Justice for Workers Hurt or Killed in a Fall on the Job Site in Illinois or Indiana
Every day here in Indiana and Illinois, workers go to work at great danger of suffering a serious fall injury even though employers and others with possession, custody, or control of aspects of their job site have a legal duty to keep them safe on the job. Preventable accidents happen when these enterprises, their managers, and supervisors, choose profits over people and fail to provide known safety protocols and procedures as they focus on the bottom line.
Victims of accidents resulting from a breach in the duty of safety may have avenues for justice pursuant to state or federal laws based upon worker’s compensation, wrongful death, negligence, and product liability laws. Damages may be available for the worker victim’s family members, as well. This includes the worker who fell as well as any worker who was injured or killed in a rescue attempt. Read, Rescue and Construction Fall Deaths: Employer’s Duty of Safety.
Falls are a very real danger for workers in a variety of industries here in Indiana and Illinois. In a matter of seconds, lives can be forever changed both for the accident victim and their loved ones. For more on fall accident risks for workers in Indiana and Illinois, read:
- Warehouse Accidents: Workers in One of the Deadliest Jobs in Indiana and Illinois
- Deadly Construction Fall Accidents: Duty to Provide Fall Safety Equipment Protections for Construction Workers
- Ladder Accidents: The Very Real Danger of Death from Falling off a Ladder on the Job
- Workers’ Compensation in Indiana and Illinois: Work-Related Injuries and the Fight Against Corporate Greed
- Construction Worker Deaths: Almost Half of All Construction Fatalities Caused by Falls
- Fatal Rooftop Falls: Record-Breaking Number of Deadly Falls from Roof
- Work Injuries and On-the-Job Accidents in Indiana and Illinois with Federal Law Protections: FELA, Jones Act, LHWCA, DBA.
Sadly, while employers and other third parties may have legal responsibilities to protect people from falls, all too often these duties are ignored or disrespected with tragic results. Please be careful out there!
