NONFATAL OCCUPATIONAL FALL INJURIES IN THE WEST-VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION-INDUSTRY

Descriptive analyses were conducted using the West Virginia workers' c ompensation and supplemental injury records to assess nonfatal occupat ional falls from elevated work surfaces in the construction industry. These analyses are based on the 182 fall injuries reported to the Stat e workers' compensation during fiscal year 1991 for which there were c omplete supplemental injury data. County-specific injury rates were ca lculated for counties with six or more fall injuries. Most of these in cidents occurred among young white males who were employed as either c raftsmen and kindred workers (48%) or laborers (33%) on non-union jobs in the general construction category (SIC-15). The counties with the highest injury rates that exceed the State rate of 5.9 per 1000 constr uction workers were located around or near the major industrial areas of Kanawha and Monongalia counties. Of the 182 claimants in the study population, one-third had been employed in their occupation for 2 year s or less. For 60% of the claimants, the length of employment with the company for which they were employed at the time of the fall injury w as two years or less; 26% had been employed for six months or less. Ap proximately, 63% of the 182 claimants had received some type of fall p rotection training. Ladders and scaffolds were involved in 50% of all falls. Fall protection devices were not commonly used by the 182 const ruction workers who worked from elevated surfaces. Fifty percent of th e claimants were using tools or handling materials when the fall occur red. Fifty-nine percent of the falls occurred from elevated work surfa ces which were relatively low heights (less than or equal to 10 feet) where few safety regulations apply even though the potential for a ser ious injury still exists. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd