At first glance, the concept of the “fatal four” may sound like a scare tactic implemented by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) to keep construction workers on their toes. However, these four hazards accounted for nearly 64% of construction worker deaths in 2016.
OSHA has even determined that eliminating the risks of the fatal four would save the lives of 631 American workers a year – a significant portion of these in the construction industry. OSHA’s “fatal four” consists of the following hazards (followed by the percentage of deaths by each in 2016):
