In its latest report on the Most Dangerous Jobs in America, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals that workers in the construction industry continue to face some of the highest risks of dying in a fatal accident on the job. The BLS warns there have been more worker fatalities in the private construction industry in 2019 than any year since 2007. For more, read our discussion in The Most Dangerous Jobs in America Are Still the Most Deadly in 2021.
Roofers Face Highest Risk of Death in Construction Industry
Even more shocking than the continued failure of industry leaders to make the workplace safer for those employed in the construction trades is that among our nation’s construction workers, none are facing a greater risk of death than those involved in roofing as roofers and roofing contractors. See, National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2019, USDL-20-2265, published by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics on December 16, 2020 (“BLS Census Report”).
The latest BLS statistics reveal roofers had a work fatality rate (54.0%) which was over 15.5 times greater than the average worker fatality rate in this country (3.5%). (BLS Census Report, page 9.)
Simply put, a roofer on a residential or commercial construction site is over fifteen times more likely to die in a job site accident than someone employed in almost any other type of work.
Roofers are almost twice as likely to die in a work accident than workers known to be employed in other dangerous jobs, like commercial truck drivers or steel mill workers. Only fishing and hunting workers, logging workers, and aircraft pilots and flight engineers face a higher likelihood of perishing while at work in an on-the-job fatal incident. See, BLS Census Report, page 9.
Why is Roofing So Dangerous?
The primary reason that roofing is so dangerous originates in the tasks involved in the job itself: roofing, by definition, involves a worker building, repairing, or maintaining a structural component that is, at a minimum, several feet off the ground. Roofing means working at a height off the ground and this places the worker at a risk of falling to the level below and suffering serious or fatal bodily injuries.
Fatal falls are the main cause of death for roofers.
Sadly, for the past decade, the most often safety standard violation in this country cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been the failure to meet 29 CFR 1926.501, Fall Protection – General Requirements. Even though it is well-known that fatal falls are a huge danger facing roofers on construction sites, OSHA reports that the basic fall protection safety regulation to keep workers safe from falls is (1) not only the regulation most often violated but (2) this same fall protection standard has been the most ignored regulation for the past decade.
For more, read 2021 OSHA Top Ten List of Violations Released: Workers No Safer from Known Injury Risks.
Different Risks of Falls in Roofing Work
However, things are more complicated for the roofer in Indiana or Illinois than the simple fact that the roofer must do his or her job from a height. Roofers can fall from a height in various ways while on the job.
Fatal roofer falls happen in a variety of situations, including:
- Losing footing and falling from the roof structure itself to the ground or lower level (trip and fall; slip and fall)
- Losing footing and falling off a ladder while on the job site (trip and fall; slip and fall)
- Losing footing and falling off a scaffold while on the job site (trip and fall; slip and fall)
- Equipment failure involving a ladder that is defective, causing a fall
- Equipment failure involving a ladder that has been improperly repaired or maintained, causing a fall
- Equipment failure involving a ladder that has been improperly put together or set up for use, causing a fall
- Equipment failure involving a scaffold that is defective, causing a fall
- Equipment failure involving a scaffold that has been improperly repaired or maintained, causing a fall
- Equipment failure involving a scaffold that has been improperly put together or set up for use, causing a fall
- Equipment failure involving a lift (aerial, all-terrain) that is defective, causing a fall
- Equipment failure involving a lift (aerial, all-terrain) that has been improperly repaired or maintained, causing a fall
- Equipment failure involving a lift (aerial, all-terrain) that has been improperly put together or set up for use, causing a fall
- Safety equipment (lifelines, harnesses, etc.) that is defective, causing a fall
- Safety equipment (lifelines, harnesses, etc.) improperly repaired or maintained, causing a fall
- Safety equipment (lifelines, harnesses, etc.) improperly put together or set up for use, causing a fall
- Failure or lack of safety equipment (lifelines, harnesses, etc.), causing or contributing to a fall
- Failure to provide safety training and procedures that cause or contribute to a fall.
The roofer who falls on a job site can suffer immediate bodily injuries that are fatal or will not be survivable in the long term. Roofers can also suffer permanent bodily harm in the form of traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, or amputation of limbs as the result of a fall on a construction site.
Read Protecting Roofing Workers, OSHA 3755-05 2015, a safety manual for both employers and workers published by OSHA in 2015.
For more, see:
- Ladder Accidents: The Very Real Danger of Death from Falling off a Ladder on the Job
- Construction Falls: Scaffolds and Ladders Can Cause Serious Accidents
- Fatal Falls on the Job and the Employers Failure to Protect Worker From Fall Risk
- Fatal Rooftop Falls: Record-Breaking Number of Deadly Falls from Roof.
Other Fatality Risks Faced by Roofers on the Job
Falls cause many roofer deaths, but there are other severe hazards involved in roofing that may result in a fatal roofing accident on the job. Things like live wires can result in a tragic fatality as the roofer is electrocuted upon contact. Roofers are also vulnerable to severe physical harm or death as the result of being asked to work in weather conditions involving extreme heat or cold where trauma can result in fatality.
In sum, roofers in Indiana and Illinois can be severely injured or killed while at work from on-the-job dangers aside from falls that include:
1] Electricity and Electrocution;
2] Transportation and Motor Vehicle Accidents;
3] Struck by Accidents;
4] Summer Heat Exhaustion;
5] Winter Cold Stress; and
6] Other Causes.
Read the OSHA manual cited above (OSHA 3755-05 2015) as well as Causes of Roofer Deaths, written by Michael McCann, Ph.D. CIH, and published by the Center for Construction Research and Training.
For more, see:
- Electrical Injuries and Electrocution Accidents on the Construction Site
- Fatal Construction Work Accident: Injuries from Being Struck By Object
- Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents on the Job: Four Types of Workers Facing Highest Risk of Deadly Work Crash
- Heat Kills: Feds Offer Free Phone App for Employers in Fight Against 2011 Heat Wave Injuries and Deaths.
Justice for Roofers Injured and Killed in a Roofing Construction Accident
When a roofer is seriously injured or killed in a work accident, the laws of Indiana and Illinois provide avenues of justice for both the worker and his or her family. Claims for damages can be filed that include coverage for things like medical care, rehabilitation expense, lost wages, physical therapy, and more. In the aftermath of a fatality, wrongful death damages may be legally available to grieving family members.
In some situations, other legal claims may be available under state product liability or negligence laws. Legal liability in these situations may involve various contractors, repair or maintenance companies, and other third parties.
For more, see:
- Construction Worker Injury Behavior Study: Higher Risk of Accident
- Fatal Rooftop Falls: Record-Breaking Number of Deadly Falls from Roof
- Legal Protection for Construction Workers from High Risk and Danger of Serious Injury or Death on the Job
- The Increasing Danger of Dying on the Job: Fatality Risk Just Keeps Growing for Workers.
Roofers are professionals who place themselves at risk of serious harm from falling as well as other site dangers that include live wires and electrocution as well as faulty safety equipment, weather conditions, and more. It is unacceptable that roofers in Indiana and Illinois continue to face recognized levels of risk that have not be contained or lessened in the past decade by those in the construction industry with a duty of care to keep workers safe. Please be careful out there!
