In tandem with Illinois’ internationally respected safety organization, the National Safety Council (NSC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) releases its annual list of the Top 10 most-cited workplace safety violations during the NSC’s yearly Safety Congress & Expo. Read, “OSHA’s Top Ten Safety Violations Show Persistent Risks to Workers,” published by the NSC on September 16, 2025.
The risk of worker fall accidents is spotlighted in the 2025 OSHA Top Ten List. For the thirteenth year in a row, basic safeguards to protect workers from injuries or death in fall accidents have been the most commonplace violation on our country’s worksites (29 C.F.R. §1926.501). Others include risks involving things like ladders and scaffolds. See, “OSHA’s 2025 Top 10 Cited Standards Highlight Persistent Safety Challenges,” written by David Koff and published by OHS Online on October 14, 2025. Also read: The 2025 OSHA Top Ten List of Most Frequently Cited Workplace Safety Standards: Warning to Workers.
Factory Fall Concerns in the OSHA Top Ten Cited Standards List
From the recently released OSHA list of the most often violated safety regulations, the following are particularly concerning for those factory workers who face the risk of a fall while on the job:
- Fall Protection — General Requirements (29 C.F.R. §1926.501) (list no. 1)
- Ladders (29 C.F.R. §1926.1053)(list no. 3)
- Fall Protection — Training Requirements (29 C.F.R. §1926.503) (list no. 6)
- Scaffolding (29 C.F.R. §1926.451)(list no. 7).
While many of the citations and breaches in safety duties have been discovered on construction sites, that does not mean that other workers – especially in the Chicagoland area – are not at an unacceptably high risk of fall injury on the worksite.
Those on the job in major local factories and plants face a great danger of fall accidents that apparently are not sufficiently protected by respect and adherence to established fall safety regulations.
For those earning a living in the Chicago metropolitan area, doing things on the factory floor in jobs on an assembly line; where tasks involve using a ladder or scaffold; or where work includes moving things across a mezzanine, means the latest OSHA Top Ten Most Cited Safety Standards List is a sharp warning that there may be insufficient protection against fall accidents on the worksite.
Dangers for Factory Workers: Warnings in the OSHA Top Ten List
Factories are huge complexes or facilities where goods are manufactured or produced. They are a critical part of several major industries in Chicagoland, and the risks that face our factory workers are very different depending upon their job and the plant itself. The variety of factory workplaces in Chicago is remarkable. Consider the following examples:
- the Ford Assembly Plant in Chicago (Torrence Ave), where over 4500 employees produce Ford Explorers, Lincoln Aviators, and Police Interceptor Utility vehicles;
- the Cleveland-Cliffs steelmaking plant (formerly ArcelorMittal) in Riverdale, where two basic oxygen furnaces, a tunnel furnace, and hot-strip mill coordinate to produce hot-rolled sheet;
- the Abbott / AbbVie bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in North Chicago, where a recently announced expansion will boost its domestic production of neuroscience, immunology, and oncology medicines; and
- other factory worksites for Chicagoans that include places like numerous steel and metal processors and fabricators as well as food manufacturing, processing, and packaging firms (think ADM, Hearthside Food Solutions (Maker’s Pride), and Conagra).
For more on the local steel industry, see Steel Mill Workers Risk of Injury on the Job: Equipment, Working Conditions.
Factory Fall Hazards
Given the variety of manufacturing and production plants in greater Chicago, each factory worker must understand and adapt to the specific circumstances of their jobsite.
For instance, at a manufacturing plant where motor vehicles are assembled, the factory worker is at risk of fall accidents involving things like using a ladder or a scaffold to service equipment; to walk at a height on a mezzanine or catwalk to repair, maintain, or inspect; working on a crane; doing work on elevated conveyors.
Conversely, those working in a steel plant may face dangers of falling as they walk on catwalks over process lines; maintain overhead equipment; work on scaffolds at heights or on raised furnace platforms.
Tanks and vessels in pharmaceutical factories mean workers will need to use ladders and scaffolds, as well as walk on surfaces that may be slippery from water or chemicals.
The failure of employers or any party with possession, custody, or control of aspects of the factory floor or workplace to meet basic safety laws can result in a Chicago factory worker being permanently harmed or killed in a factory falling accident.
For more on fall accident dangers, read: Fall Accidents on the Job: Industrial Workplaces and Great Danger of Fall Injuries; Keeping Workers Safe from Severe Fall Accident Injuries on the Job; and Fighting Fatal Falls on the Job: OSHA’s First National Emphasis Program.
Injury Claims for Damages After Chicago Factory Worker Fall Accident
Both federal regulation and state law will impact any factory worker who suffers bodily harm while on the job in a Chicago manufacturing plant, regardless of what is being made or where the ownership is headquartered.
Advocates for factory workers hurt on the job in a fall will have professional industrial experts assess the incident and determine all the reasons for what happened. Each case is unique. After a detailed investigation that may include not only interviewing witnesses; studying medical files; reviewing data from the factory as well as any video or digital recordings, the accident reconstructionist will report findings about the fall.
- Were there missing or loose guardrails on the mezzanine or catwalk?
- Was the floor slippery and unkempt?
- Was the ladder broken or faulty?
- Were harnesses provided?
- Were there scaffolds that were poorly built?
- Were there safety nets?
- How often was the worksite inspected for fall dangers and compliance with fall safety regulations?
- Is there a record of past, similar fall accidents?
- What fall safety training was given to workers? How often? How recent?
For more, read: Accident Reconstruction Experts and Injury Claims and Workplace Housekeeping and Serious Accidents on the Job: Duty of Care.
A fall suffered by a Chicago factory worker can change lives in an instant, where both the worker and their loved ones may have legal claims for redress under the law against those legally liable for what happened. These falls do not have to be from a great height: a worker falling as little as six feet off a ladder can be catastrophically harmed or killed in the fall.
Workers are guaranteed safety on the job by laws that demand things like inspections to find fall dangers on the site; the providing of personal protection equipment to protect from fall injuries; and safety measures like guardrails and railings or stability for scaffolding or cranes.
If a Chicago factory worker suffers harm in a fall, then Illinois laws under workers’ compensation, negligence, product liability, premises liability, and more may be applicable in their case for the awarding of monetary damages including not only medical expenses but long-term rehab needs; lost wages; lost future earning capacity; loss of quality of life; and more.
For more, read:
- Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana: Workers Compensation Claim vs. Personal Injury Damages
- 10 Types of Workers Compensation Benefits After a Work Accident in Illinois or Indiana
- 10 Types of Injury Damages That May Be Awarded to Accident Victims
- Common & Severe Work Related Injuries: How Do Attorneys Protect Workers?
Chicago industrial plants are extremely important not just to the country but to the world in their production and manufacturing of all sorts of goods. Factory workers are to be respected for their contributions to all our lives, but sadly all too often they are put in harm’s way by failures in respecting of legal duties of safety and care. Please be careful out there!
