Falls and falling parts: 78 dead on construction sites last year

78 people died in construction sites in Germany last year. That is two dead more than in 2023, as the trade association announced in the construction industry. The three main causes of fatal accidents on the construction are crashes (36 percent), falling or tilting components (26 percent) and accidents with construction machinery (15 percent).

“If there is fatal accidents at work, this is usually due to coarse violations of the existing set of rules,” said Frank Werner from BG Bau of the German Press Agency. The number of fatal work accidents has declined in the long -term comparison, ten years ago more than 100 cases were registered.

The most common injuries to the construction

The number of work accidents in the construction industry has been steadily declining for years. In 2024, 91,813 accidents were counted – after more than 96,000 in 2023. “The construction and the building services are still significantly above other industries in the work accidents. But we are on the right track,” said Werner. A third of the construction injuries affect their hands, almost 18 percent of the injuries their feet and the ankles.

The most common occupational diseases in construction

While the professional association has success in the event of work, the number of suspected ads on occupational diseases continues. In 2024 there were a little more than 21,000 – compared to around 15,800 in 2020. “One reason is that people get significantly older – diseases that lead to a suspected notice can also occur later,” says Werner. In addition, the younger generation in particular is more sensitive to health. For a long time not all suspected ads lead to the recognition of an occupational disease.

The most common occupational diseases in construction are noise hearing, skin cancer due to UV radiation from the sun and intervertebral disc-related spell diseases.

The most important topic in summer on construction

Many of the construction workers are exposed to heat and sunlight for hours at their work. The BG provides its member companies for the employees on request UV protection packages, which includes an information brochure, sunscreen with sun protection factor 50, a thermal container and sun protection glasses.

“We want to break with the stigma, the people in construction are particularly hard and do not need a cream,” says Werner. Dealing with UV protection has already changed significantly in the past 10 to 15 years. “The image of the construction worker with tanned upper body and undressed on the scaffold is a thing of the past in most cases.”