Bronx Construction Safety Statistics
OSHA Injury Tracking Application data for Bronx County construction establishments — 2023 reporting year.
The Bronx at a Glance — 2023
The Bronx had the smallest reporting base of the four major boroughs — just 24 establishments — but the highest injury rate at 2.9 per 200,000 hours worked, nearly double the citywide average of 1.7.
Full Bronx Injury Data — 2023
| Metric | Bronx | All NYC | Bronx Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting Establishments | 24 | 457 | 5.3% |
| Total Employees | 1,478 | 42,469 | 3.5% |
| Total Injuries | 41 | 778 | 5.3% |
| Deaths | 2 | 4 | 50.0% |
| Days Away From Work Cases | 27 | 527 | 5.1% |
| Days of Job Transfer/Restriction Cases | 4 | — | — |
| Other Recordable Cases | 8 | — | — |
| Skin Disorders | 0 | — | — |
| Respiratory Conditions | 0 | — | — |
| Hearing Loss Cases | 0 | — | — |
| Total Hours Worked | 2,788,769 | 92,207,266 | 3.0% |
| Total Days Away From Work | 2,097 | — | — |
Source: OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) Summary Data 2023. Downloaded from osha.gov/Establishment-Specific-Injury-and-Illness-Data
How the Bronx Compares
The Bronx's injury rate of 2.9 per 200,000 hours was the highest of any NYC borough — more than 3x Manhattan's rate of 0.9. The Bronx and Queens were the only boroughs to report construction fatalities in 2023.
| Borough | Establishments | Injuries | Deaths | Injury Rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronx | 24 | 41 | 2 | 2.9 |
| Queens | 202 | 426 | 2 | 2.6 |
| Manhattan | 142 | 192 | 0 | 0.9 |
| Brooklyn | 69 | 86 | 0 | 1.7 |
| Staten Island | 20 | 33 | 0 | 2.7 |
*Per 200,000 hours worked.
Source: OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) Summary Data 2023. Downloaded from osha.gov/Establishment-Specific-Injury-and-Illness-Data
What the Bronx Data Shows
Highest Injury Rate in NYC
At 2.9 injuries per 200,000 hours worked, the Bronx's rate was 70% above the citywide average of 1.7. With only 24 reporting establishments, the Bronx averaged 1.7 injuries per establishment — the highest concentration in the city.
Two Fatalities From a Small Workforce
The Bronx's 2 deaths came from just 1,478 employees working 2,788,769 hours — a fatality rate of 0.14 per 200,000 hours. Queens also reported 2 deaths, but from a workforce 12x larger.
2,097 Days Away From Work
The Bronx's 27 days-away-from-work cases resulted in 2,097 total lost workdays — averaging 77.7 days per case. That's the highest average of any borough, suggesting the injuries that do occur here tend to be particularly severe.
Smaller Reporting Base
With only 24 establishments reporting, the Bronx data covers a smaller share of the borough's actual construction activity. The Bronx's ongoing development boom (Bronx Point, La Central, Port Morris waterfront) involves many more sites than this OSHA dataset captures. The true injury picture may be larger.
Embed This Data
Cite this data in your reporting or research.
<a href="https://www.nyconstructionadvocate.com/construction-safety-statistics/bronx"
title="Bronx Construction Safety Statistics 2023 — OSHA ITA Data">
Bronx Construction Safety Statistics 2023
</a>
<!-- Source: OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) Summary Data 2023. Downloaded from osha.gov/Establishment-Specific-Injury-and-Illness-Data -->Bronx Construction Safety FAQs
Common questions about Bronx-specific construction injury data and rights.
OSHA Citations on NY Construction Sites — FY2024
The federal standards below were the most-cited safety violations on construction sites nationwide last fiscal year. When any of these standards is violated on a New York job site and a worker is hurt as a result, the citation history can support a Labor Law 241(6) claim independent of Labor Law 240. Construction Injury cases routinely involve at least one of these standards.
Rank #1 · 29 CFR 1926.501
Fall Protection - General Requirements
6,763 citations issued in FY2024 · 6,615 on construction sites.
Rank #3 · 29 CFR 1926.1053
Ladders
2,764 citations issued in FY2024 · 2,711 on construction sites.
Rank #7 · 29 CFR 1926.503
Fall Protection Training
2,217 citations issued in FY2024 · 2,171 on construction sites.
Rank #8 · 29 CFR 1926.451
Scaffolding
1,937 citations issued in FY2024.
Rank #9 · 29 CFR 1926.102
Eye and Face Protection
1,912 citations issued in FY2024 · 1,814 on construction sites.
Source: OSHA Top 10 Most-Cited Standards, Fiscal Year 2024 (federal data).
Major NY Construction Unions
Most New York construction workers are covered by one of the locals below. Union membership does not waive your Labor Law 240 rights — and your collective bargaining agreement cannot bargain those rights away. Workers' compensation and a Labor Law 240 lawsuit run on separate tracks; you are entitled to both.
Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA)
8 active locals on NY job sites — including Local 6A, Local 66.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
6 active locals on NY job sites — including Local 3, Local 25.
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners (UBC)
7 active locals on NY job sites — including Local 157, Local 926.
International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)
5 active locals on NY job sites — including Local 14-14B, Local 15.
International Association of Ironworkers
7 active locals on NY job sites — including Local 40, Local 361.
United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA)
6 active locals on NY job sites — including Local 1, Local 638.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
4 active locals on NY job sites — including Local 282, Local 807.
International Association of Sheet Metal Workers
4 active locals on NY job sites — including Local 28, Local 46.
NY Industrial Code Rule 23 — Sections That Drive Liability
New York's Industrial Code Rule 23 (12 NYCRR Part 23) sits on top of OSHA and is frequently stricter. A violation of a specific Rule 23 section that proximately caused the injury supports a Labor Law 241(6) claim independent of Labor Law 240. The following are the sections most often cited in Construction Injury litigation:
- 12 NYCRR 23-1.7 — Hazardous openings, slipping hazards, falling hazards, drowning hazards.
- 12 NYCRR 23-1.15 — Safety railings on elevated work surfaces.
- 12 NYCRR 23-1.16 — Safety belts, harnesses, lifelines, and fall arrest systems.
- 12 NYCRR 23-1.21 — Ladders and ladderways: construction, placement, and use.
- 12 NYCRR 23-5 — Scaffolding (general requirements, planking, footings, guardrails).
- 12 NYCRR 23-9 — Power-operated equipment, including cranes, hoists, and earth-moving equipment.
Source: NY Codes, Rules and Regulations, Title 12, Part 23 (Industrial Code).
What Damages Cover in a Construction Injury Claim
Damages in a Labor Law 240 case fall into five categories: past and future medical bills, past and future lost earnings, loss of earning capacity, conscious pain-and-suffering, and (in fatal cases) wrongful-death economic loss to the family. The single largest driver is usually future lost earnings — calculated from the worker's pre-accident wage rate, projected to retirement age, and reduced to present value by an economist.
Settlement ranges depend heavily on injury severity, age, union vs. non-union wage rate, and whether the worker can return to construction. Catastrophic injuries — spinal-cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, amputations — produce the highest verdicts because they eliminate earning capacity entirely. Soft-tissue and orthopedic injuries with full recovery sit at the low end of the range. Every case turns on the medical record and the economist's wage projection.
Injured on a Bronx Construction Site?
The Bronx had the highest construction injury rate in NYC in 2023. If you've been hurt on a job site, you may have rights under Labor Law 240.