May 1, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Fatal and nonfatal falls in the workplace

Falls to a lower level were by far the most frequent type of fatal fall in the workplace in 1997, comprising 91 percent of the total. Of nonfatal falls, 32 percent were to a lower level, while 63 percent were on the same level.

[Chart data—TXT]

Of fatal falls to a lower level, the highest number were from a roof, followed by a ladder, scaffold, a nonmoving vehicle, and building girders or other structural steel.

Among nonfatal falls, most were falls to the floor, walkway, or other surface, while a much smaller number were falls onto or against objects.

These data are products of the BLS Safety and Health Statistics program. Learn more in "Workplace Falls" (PDF 86K), by Timothy Webster in the Spring 2000 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions.