Common Causes of Roofing Accidents

The roofing industry is one of the most dangerous work environments, with a 57.5% work injury rate. Roofing accident deaths have increased steadily each year, rising from 96 in 2018 to 124 in 2022, the most recently released complete data year. Falls from roofs cause life-altering injuries as well as fatalities, yet nearly all falls are preventable when managers and employers adhere to safety standards, including having anti-fall equipment and fall-protection gear in place.

Many factors contribute to fall risks, including neglecting to properly train employees and failing to abide by OSHA-required safety standards.

What Causes Most Roofing Accidents?

Falls are the most common types of roofing accidents, often resulting in serious or catastrophic injuries. The most common causes of falls in the roofing industry include the following:

• Unprotected roof edges
• Missing guardrails
• Working in inclement weather conditions
• Unsafe ladders or improper ladder usage
• Roof structure instability
• Poorly covered holes or openings
• Roof pitch
• Obscured lines of site, such as blockage from chimneys, vents, and stacked shingles
• Inadequate personal fall protection such as fall arrest systems, or lack of personal protective equipment
• Fall protection that doesn’t meet weight-bearing requirements
• Distractions, lack of proper care

Roofers must maintain “edge awareness” or a continual awareness of the presence and position of roof edges. Lack of proper training on avoiding distractions and maintaining edge awareness leads to preventable falls. If you have fallen off a roof while working, contact a Los Angeles roof fall accident attorney to learn about your legal options.

What Other Types of Accidents Occur in the Roofing Industry?

Falls are the leading cause of serious and fatal accidents in the roofing industry, but other hazards cause a significant number of additional injuries. Workers’ compensation claims in the roofing industry include:

• Heat exhaustion
• Burns from hot tar
• Slip-and-fall accidents (same-level falls rather than falls from heights)
• Electrocutions
• Equipment injuries
• Struck-by accidents (impacts from falling or swinging equipment, beams, and tools)

The construction industry has some of the highest injury rates in the country, and roofing workers face an elevated risk compared to other positions in construction and repair jobs. If you have been injured on a construction site, contact a Los Angeles construction accident attorney.

What Injuries Occur in Roofing Accidents?

Fall injuries are the most common type of injuries associated with the roofing industry, but roofers experience a wide range of injuries through falls and other workplace accidents. Common injuries include traumatic brain injuries, fractures, neck injuries, back injuries, internal organ damage, burns, traumatic amputations, lacerations, and soft-tissue injuries to shoulders, knees, wrists, and ankles.

These injuries cause impacts ranging from a single large emergency room and a few days of lost pay, to long-term disability or wrongful death.

What Are the Legal Options After a Roofing Accident?

Employees who suffer serious injuries in roofing accidents often suffer financial hardship due to escalating medical costs. At the same time, they aren’t able to return to work because of their injury and recovery time. Although nothing can erase the injury or undue the harm, employee protection laws allow injured workers options to recover compensation through a workers’ compensation claim or a third-party lawsuit. Compensation can provide lost wages, medical expenses, or wrongful death compensation. In some cases, compensation for non-economic damages like pain and suffering are available to injury victims through a personal injury lawsuit.