Toolbox talk

What Actually Kills Us

U.S. construction worker deaths in a single year, 2023.

OSHA Focus FourFalls, struck-by, caught-in, and electrocution. The hazards we train hardest on.

~700

SuicideConstruction has one of the highest suicide rates of any trade.

5,095

OverdoseThe highest overdose death rate of any industry.

15,900

Each bar = U.S. construction worker deaths in 2023. Focus Four is about 65% of the 1,075 total on-the-job construction deaths (CPWR).

We've gotten good at protecting each other from the physical hazards. We can get just as good at this. Suicide and overdose take far more of us, and we barely talk about them. Silence is a safety hazard.

Good news: construction overdose deaths fell to 11,300 in 2024 as jobs added naloxone and crews started talking. It works.

Created by Brett Lovins. brettlovins.com | 360.591.3104 · © 2026 Sober Curious Consulting LLC. Free to print and share.
Sources: CPWR Center for Construction Research and Training; BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (2023); CDC/NIOSH and CPWR suicide data (2023).