Work Safety & OSHA Violations List 2017 – Fall Protection Tops the List Year After Year

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Each year, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) releases a list of the top 10 most commonly cited workplace safety violations or OSHA violations. The list doesn’t vary much from year to year. Usually, the same violations appear on the list, the only difference is in the ordering of the violations. However, the top 4 work safety violations don’t vary: Fall Protection, Hazard Communication, Scaffolding and Respiratory Protection.

Our Pennsylvania and New Jersey work injury accident lawyers have been tracking OSHA violation data for several years. With respect to the top 4, the preliminary list for 2017 is the same and has been since 2013 . However, there is one key difference for 2017. Fall Protection appears twice. As in years past, the top spot goes to Fall Protection, General Requirements in construction. Spot 9 in the 2017 list is for Fall Protection, Training (also in construction). Usually, electrical violations appear twice on the list. This year marks the first year that electrical violations appear just once.

Related: Top 5 OSHA Violations in 2015, Explained

Top 10 OSHA Violations, Preliminary List for 2017

1. Fall Protection, General
2. Hazard Communication
3. Scaffolding
4. Respiratory Protection
5. Lockout/Tagout
6. Ladders
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (PIT/Forklifts)
8. Machine Guarding
9. Fall Protection, Training
10. Electrical – Wiring

See table below for OSHA’s Top 10 lists for 2013-2016.

Fall Protection Hazards in Construction  – Top Safety Violation Year After Year

According to OSHA, in 2017 there were over 6,000 OSHA violations related to Fall Protection, General Requirements and over 1,500 violations related to Fall Protection, Training.

Fall protection violations are one of the most serious types of work injury concerns in the construction industry. This is due to the fact that fall protection regulations apply to workers who are performing work on roofs, platforms and other dangerous heights. A fall from even 6 feet can result in major injuries.

The fact that fall protection violations continue to top the list indicates that employers aren’t taking falls from heights seriously, even though OSHA recently increased its fines for violations. Last year, OSHA fines increased by 80%, the first increase in about 20 years.

TOP OSHA Violations, 2013-2016

Work Injury Lawyers – Falls at Work

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