Injury rates in all industries and in construction in particular
have been declining. Inconsistencies in the
information suggest some of the apparent decrease
may be due to changes in the ways injuries are treated,
misclassification of employees, or underreporting.
Lost-time injury rates for the largest construction
employers declined by as much as 92% between 1988
and 1999. Yet the rate for cases with restricted work
activity actually increased from 0.7 to 1.2 per 100 fulltime
workers between 1990 and 2000, and fatalities
among construction workers remain high. In Massachusetts,
at least 14% of construction employers misclassified
workers as independent contractors, with the
effect that injuries to these workers are not recordable.
Studies that compare OSHA logs with other data
sources find that the OSHA logs do not include a significant
proportion of injuries and illnesses identified
elsewhere.