Elevator-related injuries in construction reached a high of 920 in 2012 before falling to 280 in 2016, a 70 percent drop in four years, according to a report from The Center for Construction Research and Training. Electricians sustained about 700 of the 1,800 total injuries over the 13-year period, and the average recovery time was about a month for nearly half of all construction workers injured while performing elevator work.
The number of elevator-related construction deaths doubled from 14 in 2003 to 28 in 2016, with a peak of 37 deaths in 2015. And from 2011 to 2016, 145 construction workers died due to elevator-related injuries.
More than 53 percent of elevator-related deaths were from falls, with nearly half of those from at least 30 feet high. Close to 38 percent of fatalities occurred during assembling or dismantling tasks, and the highest percentage of deaths were among workers 35 years old or younger.
