Construction Worker Suffers Fatal Fall at University of Kentucky Work Site
According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, a construction worker was fatally injured on the job after falling from a roof at a construction site at the University of Kentucky in Lexington on Friday morning.
Details of Fatal Construction Accident
The construction accident occurred on campus at the site of the new student center on the Avenue of Champions and Lexington Avenue at around 11:30 a.m. local time. Michael Persichitti, 47, was among other workers unloading roofing materials on top of the structure when he fell from the roof.
Persichitti fell around 30-feet to the ground, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader. Officials say the man suffered from multiple blunt force trauma injuries and died at the scene.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that Persichitti was an employee of Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal, which was doing subcontract work for Messer Construction of Cincinnati. Officials say it did not appear as if Persichitti was wearing a safety harness at the time of the fall. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will be investigating the fatal work accident, and the work site will be closed until the investigation is complete.
On the Job Accident Statistics
The following information is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS):
- 4,836 workers sustained fatal injuries on the job in 2015.
- 937 of these fatalities occurred in the private construction industry – the highest total since 2008.
- Seventeen percent of decedents in 2015 were contracted by and performing work for another business or government entity rather than for their direct employer at the time of the fatality.
- In 2015, fatal falls to a lower level accounted for nearly 40 percent of fatal work injuries in the private construction industry.
