Fatal Workplace Accidents, represent unsafe working conditions and personal risks faced by workers. In 2020, there were 4,764 fatal workplace injuries in the United States.
In the last 30 days, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has seen at least four construction-related fatal accidents. These fatal workplace accidents range from accidental electrocution to structural collapses.
As a result of the economic disruptions, the number of hours worked decreased 9% in 2020. This marks the first decrease in hours worked since 2009. Hours worked in 2021 recovered 5% from 2020 levels but are still down 4% from 2019 levels.
The increased hours worked in 2021 partially accounts for a 6% increase in preventable work deaths in 2021, now totaling 4,472. The preventable death rate increased from 3.0 in 2020 to 3.1 per 100,000 workers in 2021. Since 2011, the number of preventable work deaths has increased over 14%, while the death rate per 100,000 workers has increased 3%.
Prior to 2020, contact with objects and equipment was the third leading cause of injury, and accounts for 16.7% of cases in 2020.
Contact with objects and equipment, including:
- A moving object striking a worker
- A worker striking against an object or equipment, including bumping into, stepping on, kicking, or being pushed or thrown onto an object
- A part of a worker’s body being squeezed, pinched, compressed, or crushed in equipment, between shifting objects, between stationary objects, or in a wire or rope
- A worker being struck, caught, or crushed in collapsing structure, equipment, or material
- A worker being injured as a result of friction or pressure between the person and the source of injury
- A worker being injured from vibration
Construction workers hit by building materials have a high fatality rate but are preventable.
According to OSHA, about 75% of “struck-by” fatalities involve heavy equipment, such as trucks or cranes. Workers in agriculture, construction and manufacturing are mostly at risk.
According to the National Safety Council, there have been about 700 workplace deaths due to these types of incidents every year for the past decade, and hundreds of thousands of injuries annually.
Since 2012, the construction industry has experienced the most deaths followed by the transportation and warehousing industry. The leading fatal event in the construction industry is falls.
Construction and extraction had the largest increase in number of incidents from 105 in 2018 to 136 in 2019 and accounted for 22% of all incidents. Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance had the largest percent increase from 2018 (16) to 2019 (46), a 188% increase.
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program.
In 2021, The transportation and warehousing industry had the highest number of fatalities with 182 incidents. Fatalities in the transportation and warehousing industry increased to 138 representing 26% of all fatalities in Texas, up from both 2020 (96) and 2019 (137).
The construction industry had the same number of fatalities in 2021 as 2020 with 127 incidents, representing 24% of all fatalities in Texas.
According to the Department of Labor, the construction industry continues to have the highest number of fatalities with 127 in 2021. In 2021, there were 40 natural resources and mining fatalities — 14 less than 2020 (54) and 32 less than 2019 (72).
Number of Fatalities by Industry
Texas 2019-2021
The most common location for a fatal accident is on streets or highways with a total of 241 incidents, accounting for 45% of all fatal injuries. Industrial place and premises, includes industrial yards, loading platforms, railyards, warehouses, construction sites, factories, plants, and repair shops. These locations represent 20% of all fatalities with 107 incidents.
RECENT WORK SITE ACCIDENTS
Construction Related Fatality
March 29, 2023 | FORT WORTH, TX
A construction worker was killed in an equipment accident in Fort Worth on Wednesday morning. The incident happened around 4:45 a.m. near Northeast Loop 820 and North Railhead Road in north Fort Worth, according to a police report.
Police officials said it was a "construction related accident" in which a worker got entangled with a piece of heavy equipment. The worker, who has not been identified, died at the scene.
Wednesday's incident is at least the fourth construction-related death in North Texas this month.
Fatal Electrocution
March 3, 2023 | SOUTHLAKE, TX
46-year-old Adrian Quintanilla Melgar was electrocuted while trimming trees in Southlake.
Shortly after 11 a.m. Friday, March 3, Southlake firefighters and police officers were called to a home in the 900 block of West Dove Road. When first responders arrived, they found a man unconscious and suspended by a harness in a tree.
Witnesses told first responders that the man was a landscape employee who had been trimming trees at the property when he accidentally encountered a live electrical wire.
Southlake firefighters worked quickly to reach the victim and assess his condition, but he had already passed away. Firefighters then removed him from the tree.
The Southlake Police Department said the investigation into the incident is ongoing. The victim’s name will be released once next of kin is notified.
Fatal Crane Accident
March 3, 2023 | Celina, TX
43-year-old Neny Alejandro died after a crane at an elementary school construction site fell on top of him. The Celina Fire Department (CFD) confirmed the crane collapse at the future site of Dan Christie Elementary.
Fatal Roofing Accident
March 7, 2023 | Fort Worth, TX
Omar Sandoval Rangel died after falling off a roof in the 3100 block of Northwest Centre Drive. Omar Sandoval Rangel was installing a roof and fell around 11 a.m. Tuesday while working on a construction site in the 3100 block of Northwest Centre Drive in Fort Worth.
Structure Collapse
Also this month, a worker had to be rescued after getting stuck in a drainage pipe he was working on and two other workers were hospitalized when a Stephenville church collapsed in January.
March 20, 2023 | Arlington, TX
A group of people working in a garden Description automatically generated with low confidence Arlington rescue crews pulled a worker out of a pipe at a water treatment plant on Monday morning. Multiple crews were called to the Pierce-Burch Water Treatment Plant near Lake Arlington after they got calls for a trapped worker.
The worker was trapped in a 54-inch water transmission line at the facility 6-feet down. The line had been drained of water for a pipe section replacement. The City of Arlington says the workers injuries were serious, but not life-threatening.
January 19, 2023 | STEPHENVILLE, TX
Two construction workers were hospitalized after the partial building collapse of a church in Stephenville, Texas.
The incident happened at First Baptist Church in Stephenville. One of the injured workers had to be transported to a hospital by air.
Police in Stephenville, about 68 miles southwest of Fort Worth in Erath County, said the fire department responded to the collapse at First Baptist Church just before 2 p.m.
Crews observed a part of the building's arched facade had collapsed onto the front steps of the church. According to police, the exterior of the building has been undergoing construction work to replace and clean the ornamental facade.
Police said two construction workers were on an extended boom lift when they were struck by falling debris.
One of the workers was transported by air to a hospital in Fort Worth, while the other was taken to a hospital in Stephenville.
Stephenville PD reported that one of the workers has been treated and released and the other remains hospitalized with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
CONTACT MILLER WEISBROD OLESKY
The Construction Accident Attorneys at Miller Weisbrod Olesky have won several multi million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of construction accident victims and their families. Our record of proven results is one of the many reasons individuals choose our firm to handle their cases.
If you were seriously injured or a loved one died in a construction accident caused by a negligent contractor or subcontractor or OSHA safety violations, we encourage you to call our offices in Dallas today at 214.987.0005 or toll free at 888.987.0005 to schedule a free consultation.
