Falls are one of the leading causes of death for workers in this country; most of these fatal fall accidents happen when a worker falls to a lower level. Only motor vehicle accidents kill more people on the job than falling accidents, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more, read “BLS Data Highlights Leading Workplace Injury and Fatality Trends,” written by David Kopf and published by OHS Online on September 19, 2025.
Surely employers and those with possession, custody, or control of aspects of worksites in our factories, construction sites, or warehouses are prioritizing ways to combat the risk of a worker’s deadly fall? Apparently not.
Fall Protection Safety Regulation Remains Top in OSHA’s Top Ten List of Citations for 15th Year
For advocates of worker victims and their loved ones, it is shocking, and frankly infuriating, that for the fifteenth year in a row, the general safety regulation to protect workers from fall accident injuries remains the most commonly violated standard in this country. Read, “OSHA’s Top 10 Safety Violations Show Persistent Risks to Workers; Fall protection leads OSHA citations for 15th straight year,” published by the National Safety Council on September 16, 2025.
During the annual Safety Congress & Expo hosted by Illinois’ renowned safety organization, the National Safety Council, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced its yearly Top Ten List of its most frequently cited workplace safety standards.
The 2025 OSHA Top Ten List of Most Frequently Cited Workplace Safety Standards are:
1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (29 CFR §1926.501)
2. Hazard Communication (29 CFR §1910.1200)
3. Ladders (29 CFR §1926.1053)
4. Lockout/Tagout (29 CFR §1910.147)
5. Respiratory Protection (29 CFR §1910.134)
6. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (29 CFR §1926.503)
7. Scaffolding (29 CFR §1926.451)
8. Powered Industrial Trucks (29 CFR §1910.178)
9. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (29 CFR §1926.102)
10. Machine Guarding (29 CFR §1910.212).
Why Are Falls So Dangerous?
When someone suffers a fall on the jobsite, they can become permanently disabled or even sustain life-ending injuries in a matter of seconds. Their body may be hurt in both the force of impact as well as the particular circumstances of the site (for instance, falling to a lower level with a sandy or muddy surface is much different than falling from a scaffold onto a hot metal factory floor).
Bodily harm in a fall can kill immediately, or result in death in the weeks or months after the fall happened. The personal injuries can be widespread, too; workers hurt in a work accident fall can suffer:
- Amputations or loss of use of limb
- Fractures
- Internal trauma (organ damage; bleeding; bruising; etc.)
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic amputations or loss of use of limb (immediate at time of injury)
- Wrongful 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.
Workers at the Greatest Risk of a Top Ten Violation Injury
In tandem with this announcement at the Safety Congress, OSHA published which industries led in violations for each item on the list. Read, “OSHA Reveals 2025 Top 10 Most Cited Standards,” written by David Kopf and published by OHS Online on September 17, 2025.
Workers in the construction industry, particularly those involved in roofing; framing; or siding must be aware of how commonplace it is for those with safety duties to leave these workers at risk of a serious or deadly on-the-job accident.
1. Roofers Face The Greatest Danger of Being Hurt on the Job
Over half of the 2025 OSHA Top Ten List corresponds to roofing and/or framing and siding:
- Roofers, framers, and siding contractors led in violations for Fall Protection (No. 1)
- Roofers led in violations for Hazard Communication (No. 2)
- Roofers, framers, siding contractors, and residential construction companies led in violations for Ladders (No. 3)
- Roofers led in violations for Fall Protection-Training Requirements (No.6)
- Masonry, roofing, framing, and siding led in violations for Scaffolding (No.7)
- Roofers led in violations of Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment (No. 9).
For more, read: Roofers Hurt or Killed on the Job: Why is Roofing So Dangerous and Deadly?
2. Factory Workers; Residential Construction Workers; Masonry Also Come With Great Risk
Other blatantly dangerous worksites revealed by the 2025 OSHA Top Ten List include:
- Residential construction, a leader in violations for Ladders (No. 3)
- Plastic products manufacturers, a leader in violations for Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)(No. 4)
- Machine shops, a leader in violations for Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)(No. 4)
- Anyone working where they are required to wear respiratory protection, because employers are generally failing to follow the safety regulation for violated Respiratory Protection (No.5)
- Masonry job sites are a leader in violations for Scaffolding (No.7)
- Worksites where workers are around powered industrial trucks, because lack of training of these truck drivers is a common violation of Powered Industrial Trucks (No. 8)
- Any area where a worker is near a piece of equipment or machine that should have guarding is a leading violation because companies failed to have guarding a the point of operation in common violations of Machine Guarding (No. 10).
For more, read Residential Construction Workers – Greater Danger of On the Job Injuries; Dangers of Serious or Deadly Factory Worker Accidents in Illinois and Indiana; Danger of Powered Industrial Truck (PIT) Work Accidents in Illinois and Indiana; and Machine Guarding: Serious Industrial Work Accidents Caused by Moving Machine Parts.
Workers in Illinois and Indiana Deserve Better Protection on the Job
The release of the 2025 OSHA Top Ten List of Most Frequently Cited Workplace Safety Standards is a warning to everyone on the job in diverse workplaces in our part of the country including construction, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, and transportation.
These workplaces employ a huge number of people in our part of the country, with more people working as factory workers, construction workers, or warehouse workers in Illinois and Indiana than in other states. Things need to be safer for workers on the job, and the need to respect established safety regulations must be demanded from those with legal duties of care and safety on our worksites.
From National Safety Council CEO Lorraine Martin:
“While progress has been made in many workplaces, the consistency in citation rankings year after year signals there is more work ahead. The safety community must intensify our efforts to better protect workers and save lives. We can do this through robust training, updated metrics, high-hazard identification and control implementation, coupled with employee engagement and leadership accountability.”
Also read:
- NSC Safety Experts Warn of Dangers Facing Workers in the OSHA Top Ten List of Violations
- Dirty Dozen Report: No Surprise the Most Dangerous Workplaces are Extremely Profitable Companies
- Lockout and Tagout (LOTO) Injuries on the Job: a Top Ten OSHA Safety Violation
- Keeping Workers Safe from Severe Fall Accident Injuries on the Job.
For fifteen years in a row, the basic safety standard to protect workers from fall accidents on the job has been the most disrespected regulation. This, while falls are steadily reported as one of the leading causes of worker deaths in this country. It’s unacceptable. Workers must be aware of this horrible reality. Their employers alongside third parties that may have legal responsibilities to protect people from falls and other worksite dangers are failing to meet legally established duties of care with tragic results. Please be careful out there!
