Every year, thousands of workers don't make it home. This report compiles the latest government and industry data on occupational fatalities, injuries, and the cost of doing nothing about them.
In 2024, there were 5,070 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States: one worker death every 104 minutes. While that number has declined slightly from 5,283 in 2023, the human cost remains enormous, and certain industries continue to bear a disproportionate share of the risk.
The financial damage goes well beyond what's visible on any single claim. The National Safety Council estimates the total cost of work injuries in 2023 reached $176.5 billion, including $53.1 billion in lost wages and productivity, $36.8 billion in medical expenses, and $59.5 billion in administrative costs. For context, that's more than the GDP of many countries, absorbed by employers, workers, and insurers year after year.
OSHA estimates employers pay over $1 billion per week in direct workers' compensation costs alone. The average cost of a single medically-consulted workplace injury is $43,000. The average cost per workplace death: $1.46 million.
No private industry comes close to construction when it comes to raw fatality counts. In 2023, construction recorded 1,075 workplace deaths, the highest number since 2011, accounting for roughly one in five occupational fatalities across all U.S. industries.
Falls remain the leading killer in construction, accounting for 39% of all industry fatalities in 2023. Construction workers make up nearly half (47.8%) of all fatal falls across every U.S. industry, despite representing just 7% of the total workforce. Roofing contractors alone account for 26% of fall fatalities within construction.
Transportation incidents are the second leading cause of death in construction, with 240 fatalities in 2023. Portable ladders and stairs were the primary source of 109 construction deaths. Of all fatal falls, 64.4% occurred from heights between just 6 and 30 feet.
"Today's data is a grim reminder of the challenge our industry faces when it comes to ensuring the health and safety of the men and women who build America."
Brian Turmail, Associated General Contractors of America
Heat-related deaths at work are rising, and the data almost certainly undercounts the true toll. From 2012 to 2023, the number of heat-related fatal injuries among all U.S. workers increased by 77.4%. Heat-related workplace deaths have risen roughly 70% over the past decade, with 2023 and 2024 among the deadliest years on record.
Construction workers are only 7% of the U.S. workforce, yet they accounted for over a third of all heat-related workplace deaths in both 2022 and 2023. The rate of heat-related injuries in construction runs nearly four times higher than other industries, driven by prolonged physical exertion, direct sun exposure, and personal protective equipment that traps body heat.
The problem is compounding. With each of the past ten years ranking as the warmest ever recorded, and federal heat standards still under development, the exposure risk for outdoor and industrial workers will only grow. Experts note that heat-related deaths are also widely underreported, as many heat-triggered cardiac events or fatigue-related accidents are not classified as heat deaths in official records.
Fatal injuries represent only a fraction of the damage. In 2024, U.S. employers reported 2.5 million nonfatal injury and illness cases in private industry. Nonfatal injuries result in 103 million lost workdays annually, with tens of millions more lost in future years from permanent disabilities sustained on the job.
The most costly nonfatal claims tell their own story: motor vehicle crashes average $91,433 per workers' compensation claim. Falls and slips average $54,499. Amputations average $125,058. These figures are direct costs only. The indirect costs (lost productivity, hiring replacements, project delays, damaged equipment, and regulatory investigations) can run up to ten times higher.
Employers often find that for every $1 invested in an effective workplace safety and health program, they save $4 to $6 in avoided injury costs.
U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Most worksite fatalities and serious injuries share a common thread: when something went wrong, no one saw it coming, and no one could reconstruct exactly what happened. Supervisors rely on walk-arounds, radio calls, and secondhand information. Workers exist as names on a roster, not as a live operational picture. When an incident occurs, or before it does, the data that could have prevented it or at least explained it simply isn't there.
Only 13% of construction contractors have tried wearable safety technology on the job site, according to industry surveys. Of those who have, 82% reported a positive impact on safety or productivity. The technology to close the visibility gap exists. The adoption rate tells you how much opportunity remains.
The cost of a serious injury to a contractor doesn't end with the workers' compensation claim. It includes the investigation, the downtime, the reputational impact, the insurance premium increase, and the human cost of a crew that watched it happen. The $43,000 average direct cost is just the beginning.
