Caught-in and caught-between fatalities on the rise in construction: CPWR

Silver Spring, MD — Caught-in or caught-between incidents resulted in 275 construction worker deaths from 2011 to 2015 – the most of any major industry – according to a recent report from the Center for Construction Research and Training (also known as CPWR).

About 69 percent of the deaths were attributed to “being caught or crushed in collapsing materials,” a 50 percent increase over the five-year period, the report states.

Other findings:

• In 2015, 68 construction workers died from a caught-in or between incidents. That is a 33 percent increase from 2011, when 51 workers were killed.
• Ironworkers experienced the highest rate of caught-in or between fatalities.
• Older construction workers experienced an elevated fatality risk.
• Among other major industries, manufacturing (244 deaths) and agriculture (197) experienced the next highest totals of caught-in or between fatalities from 2011 to 2015.

“Caught-in [or] between injuries and deaths are preventable,” the report states, pointing to training, engineering controls, safety protocols, and personal protective equipment as possible solutions.

Caught-in or between incidents are among OSHA’s “Construction Focus Four” hazards, which also include electrocution, falls and struck-by incidents.