How often these injuries happen
OSHA recorded 122 severe cases of you falling to lower levels over the past 18 months. Fractures are the most common injury type, appearing in 53% of all reported incidents and often requiring extensive medical intervention.
These falls frequently result in severe trauma to the brain, leading to long-term recovery challenges. The high frequency of head injuries highlights the extreme danger inherent in working at elevation without proper safety measures.
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Falls from heights typically occur when you lose your footing on portable ladders or stairs, which are involved in 37% of all recorded incidents. Many injuries happen during routine tasks like ceiling demolition, insulation installation, or electrical work when equipment like pipe jacks or ladders fail to provide a stable base. When your employer fails to secure these surfaces or provide adequate fall protection, you are left vulnerable to sudden, high-impact drops.
| Injury Type | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fractures | 65 |
| 2 | Severe wounds or internal injuries and other injuries | 15 |
| 3 | Traumatic injuries or exposures— unspecified | 10 |
| 4 | Intracranial Injuries | 10 |
| 5 | Multiple severe wounds and internal injuries | 8 |
| 6 | Injuries to the brain, spinal cord and other injuries | 4 |
| 7 | Multiple surface and flesh wounds | 3 |
| 8 | Other multiple traumatic injuries— n.e.c. | 2 |
Where injuries happen most
Construction leads all sectors with 37% of reported fall incidents, largely due to the frequent use of ladders, scaffolds, and rooftops. Manufacturing and transportation follow, where you often face similar hazards while accessing elevated machinery or loading docks. In these industries, the failure to enforce strict fall protection protocols often turns a routine maintenance task into a life-altering injury.
Real cases like yours
Reported incidents consistently show a pattern of you performing routine tasks on ladders or rooftops when a sudden equipment failure or environmental hazard triggers a fall. Whether it is a ladder slipping on an uneven floor, a structural component giving way, or an electrical shock causing a loss of balance, these reports demonstrate that most falls are linked to preventable workplace conditions. If your injury occurred under similar circumstances, an attorney can help you review the specifics of your incident to determine your legal options.
| Year | State | Industry | Incident summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | MD | Construction | "An employee was on an A-frame ladder while preforming demolition of a ceiling. A section of HVAC ductwork fell on the employee and knocked them to the ground approximately 12 feet below. The employee was hospitalized with a concussion and lacerations." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "An employee was on a 10-foot ladder, working to insulate 24-inch piping that was 12 feet above the ground. The pipe jack/steel tube used to raise the pipe slipped, causing the steel tube to strike the employee's face. The impact caused the employee to fall off the ladder and sustain fractures to their left tibia and fibula." | |
| 2025 | OH | Construction | "On July 26, 2025, an employee was on a ladder wiring an air handling unit. He sustained an electrical shock from a 277-volt wire, then fell approximately 6 feet hitting his head and back on the floor. The employee sustained fractures to the side of their face and their T6 vertebra." | |
| 2025 | TX | Construction | "An employee was on a rooftop, supervising the lifting of a 30' x 30' structure manufactured from I-beams. The employee was knocked to the ground and the suspended load settled on them. The employee sustained a head injury, loss of an eye, and fractured ribs." | |
| 2025 | NY | Manufacturing | "Employees were upgrading lighting fixtures in the accounting offices. The injured employee was on a ladder working on a ceiling light fixture. He came into contact with the metal grating surrounding the fixture and sustained an electrical shock that caused him to lose balance and fall approximately 3 to 4 feet to the floor. The injured employee sustained a fractured pelvis and a torn rotator cuff." | |
| 2025 | IL | Utilities | "An employee was on a ladder while attaching insulated lugs to wires outside of a customer's home. The employee was electrocuted and his body locked up, causing him to fall off the ladder onto the ground feet first. The employee suffered electrocution injuries and shattered both ankles." | |
| 2025 | AL | Administrative Services | "An employee was working from a bucket truck about 30 feet in the air. A tree section the employee had just cut made contact with the bucket or boom of the truck, and the employee was forced out of the bucket. The employee fell to the ground and suffered broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade, a broken collarbone, and a collapsed lung." | |
| 2025 | OH | Construction | "An employee was working in an electrical junction box and was shocked by an energized circuit. The employee fell off a ladder about 3-4 feet to a cement floor, sustaining fractures to his left shoulder and right heel. The employee was hospitalized." | |
| 2025 | GA | Construction | "On July 9, 2025, a crane operator was replacing a fuse behind the upper cab of a crane. They had been kneeling and holding a panel surrounding the engine compartment. When they began to stand up, the panel unexpectedly came loose. The employee lost their balance and fell to the asphalt below, suffering a broken hip." | |
| 2025 | TX | Transportation & Warehousing | "The injured employee loaded a container onto a railcar and then mounted the railcar to put in the locking mechanism for the container. The employee was struck by another container that a crane was loading onto the railcar and fell approximately four feet from the railcar to the concrete ground. The employee sustained fractures to their pelvis, shoulder, and two ribs." |
Source: OSHA Severe Injury Reports. Narratives are verbatim from filings; identifying details may have been redacted by OSHA.