Report: Struck-by Hazards Lead Cause of Fatal/Nonfatal Injuries
BY CHRISTINE TORRES
Published August 22, 2017
The most struck-by injuries, 804 incidents, occurred in the construction industry, according to new quarterly data from The Center for Construction Research and Training, followed by the agriculture industry with 727. Between 2011 and 2015, the report said, struck-by injuries increased 2.5 percent.
About half of the struck-by fatalities in construction were caused by an object or equipment, and 48 percent were caused from being struck by a vehicle, according to the center, which examined data from agencies such as the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. Most agriculture worker deaths were a result from being struck by an object or equipment. Masonry contractors had the highest rate of struck-by object injuries among the construction industry’s subsectors with 48.2 nonfatal injuries per 10,000 workers in 2015.
The rate of fatal struck-by injuries among highway maintenance workers dipped from 23 to 8.2 fatalities per 100,000 highway maintenance workers between 2011 and 2013, but then increased to 17.6 between 2013 and 2015. Higher traffic volume and distracted driving were listed in the report as possible reasons for the increase.
Workers age 65 or older experienced the highest rate of struck-by fatalities, while workers younger than 20 had the highest rate of nonfatal struck-by injuries, the report said.
The center reported that implemented solutions, which include safety standards and regulations, engineering controls, proper PPE, and safety and health training “can greatly reduce unnecessary deaths” due to struck-by injuries.
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