California workers like you understand that you face risks at the workplace no matter what your job is. Even a job with tight security and safety measures can still have accidents sometimes.
Some accidents are more common than others, too. This is the case for falls. Any industry can suffer from fall incidents, and many of them suffer injuries and fatalities as a result.
The National Safety Council examines falls at the workplace in different industries. In a twist that is perhaps surprising, industries related to the government have the highest rate of injuries from falls. They had 63,350 fall injuries in 2016 alone. Compare this to wholesale trade, which had the lowest number of fall-related injuries at 10,250.
But government industries do not have the deadliest falls. Rather, the field of construction suffers from this. Of 24,700 injuries, 384 people ended up dying in 2016. Compare this to education and health services, which had the lowest number of fatalities. They had 18 deaths among 43,660 injuries.
It is hard to predict how many injuries an industry may suffer from. However, almost all fall incidents happen due to negligence on the part of employers or employees. Common causes include:
In some cases, a fall happens due to unexpected and unavoidable circumstances. But in many, your employers can work to lower the total rate of falls at work.
