Manhattan Construction Safety Statistics
OSHA Injury Tracking Application data for New York County construction establishments — 2023 reporting year.
Manhattan at a Glance — 2023
Manhattan had the largest construction workforce (18,295 employees) and the most total hours worked (47.5% of citywide) — but the lowest injury rate of any borough at 0.9 per 200,000 hours. It accounted for 24.7% of all citywide injuries.
Full Manhattan Injury Data — 2023
| Metric | Manhattan | All NYC | Manhattan Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting Establishments | 142 | 457 | 31.1% |
| Total Employees | 18,295 | 42,469 | 43.1% |
| Total Injuries | 192 | 778 | 24.7% |
| Deaths | 0 | 4 | 0.0% |
| Days Away From Work Cases | 115 | 527 | 21.8% |
| Days of Job Transfer/Restriction Cases | 18 | — | — |
| Other Recordable Cases | 70 | — | — |
| Skin Disorders | 1 | — | — |
| Respiratory Conditions | 8 | — | — |
| Hearing Loss Cases | 0 | — | — |
| Total Hours Worked | 43,815,426 | 92,207,266 | 47.5% |
| Total Days Away From Work | 4,653 | — | — |
Source: OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) Summary Data 2023. Downloaded from osha.gov/Establishment-Specific-Injury-and-Illness-Data
How Manhattan Compares
Despite having the most employees and the most hours worked, Manhattan's injury rate of 0.9 was the lowest of any NYC borough — roughly one-third the rate of the Bronx (2.9) and less than half of Queens (2.6).
| Borough | Establishments | Injuries | Deaths | Injury Rate* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | 142 | 192 | 0 | 0.9 |
| Queens | 202 | 426 | 2 | 2.6 |
| Brooklyn | 69 | 86 | 0 | 1.7 |
| Bronx | 24 | 41 | 2 | 2.9 |
| 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 Manhattan Data Shows
Lowest Injury Rate Despite Highest Volume
Manhattan's 0.9 injury rate per 200,000 hours worked is remarkable given the scale —43,815,426 total hours across high-rise and commercial construction. Larger, more established firms with union labor and safety programs may account for the lower rate.
8 Respiratory Conditions — Highest of Any Borough
While Manhattan had the lowest overall injury rate, it reported 8 respiratory conditions — more than Queens (3), and far more than the other three boroughs (0 each). This likely reflects dust, silica, and chemical exposure during high-rise demolition and renovation work.
Zero Fatalities — But 4,653 Days Lost
Manhattan reported no construction deaths in 2023 according to this OSHA dataset. But the 115 days-away-from-work cases still resulted in 4,653 total lost workdays — an average of 40.5 days per case.
Largest Workforce in NYC
Manhattan's 18,295 employees across 142 reporting establishments made it the largest construction labor pool in the city, accounting for 43.1% of the citywide workforce and 47.5% of all hours worked.
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<!-- Source: OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) Summary Data 2023. Downloaded from osha.gov/Establishment-Specific-Injury-and-Illness-Data -->Manhattan Construction Safety FAQs
Common questions about Manhattan-specific OSHA data and worker 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 Manhattan Construction Site?
Manhattan's 18,295 construction workers face daily risks on some of the most complex projects in the world. If you've been hurt, you may have rights under Labor Law 240.