CPWR’s Data Center has developed and maintained the Construction Fatality Maps since 2011 as part of supporting the National Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction. To continue to raise public awareness of construction hazards and the need for improved safety in the industry, they have recently developed a Construction Fatality Map Dashboard. The newly designed dashboard combines data from ongoing OSHA fatality investigations and online media sources gathered since 2011 (including data used in the archived fatality maps below as well as more recent data from 2019 and 2020). For the most up-to-date data and an interactive experience, please visit the Dashboard on cpwr.com.

Although the dashboard only captures about 70% of all construction fatalities, it provides detailed geographic information and other circumstances for each fatal injury. As a result of how data were collected, the fatality maps may include deaths excluded from U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports and vice versa. The chart below shows a comparison between some of the maps and BLS CFOI data.

As a point of reference, during the ten year period preceding the construction downturn, which began in 2008, BLS reported roughly 1,200 construction fatalities annually.  Prior to the downturn and since, falls have accounted for roughly one-third of work-related deaths suffered by construction workers each year.

Archived Fatality Maps (pre-dashboard)

Changes in Data Collection Methods

For 2011, CPWR included OSHA records of suspected or confirmed on-the-job heart attacks and aneurysms.  Ten deaths of this nature were included.  Starting in 2012, in order to be more consistent with BLS data, CPWR excluded confirmed and suspected heart attacks and aneurysms, unless coupled with a traumatic injury.  For instance, a worker who suffered a heart attack before falling from a ladder would still be included in the maps from 2012 onward.  Deaths described as “occurring due to natural causes” were excluded for all years.  Events in which the cause of death was unclear or unknown (e.g. a worker found dead on a worksite with no witnesses to the incident) were included.