WorkSafe has issued a warning after a construction worker died following a fall of more than two meters at a building site in Melbourne.
The incident occurred at a residential complex in Doncaster East. The 56 year-old man was pouring concrete on the site when he fell.
The man died two days after he fell from a building site on March 26.
According to WorkSafe, this was the 11th workplace fatality this year, and there has been a spike in serious falls at construction sites.
There were four incidents within nine days and six within the previous three weeks.
Among the other incidents that occurred in March was the injury of a worker who fell from a building site in Brunswick East.
He was reportedly three meters from the roof. A man from Portarlington also fell from a house.
In Carrum Downs, a worker suffered serious head and spinal injuries after he fell from a ladder.
And a 32-year-old man fell from a concrete slab while at Glen Waverley.
According to Narelle Beer, the executive director of the health and safety division of the regulator, the increase in such incidents is frustrating due to how preventable these are.
Dr. Beer noted that a fall can happen in seconds, but its effects can last a lifetime.
Although it may seem like a no-brainer that a fatal accident would never occur on a construction site, the reality is that if safety is not a top priority, then it will most likely happen.
In 2023, four of the 18 workplace fatalities in Victoria were caused by falls from a height.