Injuries from slips and trips in construction.
Construction injuries preceded by a slip or trip were documented using data from the building of the Denver International Airport (Denver, Colorado, USA), the largest construction project in the world at the time. Slips and trips occurred at a rate of 5/200,000 h worked accounting for 18% of all injuries and 25% of workers' compensation payments, or more than $10 million. Slips contributed to the vast majority (85%) of same-level falls and over 30% of falls from height, as well as a significant number of musculoskeletal injures sustained after slipping or tripping but without falling. The injury burden would have been under-recognized in analyses of most coded compensation records. In contrast to other types of injuries, the most common contributing factors were environmental in nature including conditions of walking and working surfaces, terrain and weather. Due to the very dynamic nature of construction work, reducing slips and trips will require a focus on environmental and organizational solutions that evolve as the site changes and the construction project evolves.
Lipscomb
Hester J
HJ
Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Box 3834, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Glazner
Judith E
JE
Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA.
Bondy
Jessica
J
Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA.
Guarini
Kenneth
K
OMI Safety Services, Inc., Denver, Colorado, USA.
Lezotte
Dennis
D
Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA.
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014942:Workers' Compensation; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*