Deadly work accident in Steyr: Bau worker from concrete element

Deadly work accident in Steyr: Bau worker from concrete element

A tragic accident accident occurred on July 24, 2025 on a construction site in Steyr, in which a 61-year-old worker from the Linz-Land district died. The accident occurred during demolition work in the early Wednesday afternoon. The man was hit by a falling concrete element when loading material onto a truck. Despite the immediate help by an emergency doctor and the paramedics of the Red Cross, the worker died at the scene of the accident, report Kosmo.

The incident again raises questions about the security standards on construction sites. The investigation into the exact circumstances of the accident and possible safety defects are already underway. Accidents of work, especially in the construction industry, represent a serious problem, as well as the data that has been compiled in various studies.

Frequency and causes of work accidents

In Germany, an average of 830,000 accidents occurred per year from 2011 to 2021, of which over 135,000 accidents were due to construction sites. Austria's Situation is similar, since the construction industry also has a high rate of accidents at work. Around 14 % of all work accidents on construction sites are done annually, which means that every seventh work accident is happening there, as IAG Mainz notes.

The construction industry also has the highest rate of fatal work accidents: in Germany there are more than three times as many as in traffic or warehouses. The most common causes of such accidents are contact with objects, impact and crashes. The latter are responsible for 43 % of fatal accidents.

Development of the number of accidents

The monitoring and analysis of work accidents has led to an improvement in security in the workplace in recent years. The number of accidents on construction sites has dropped from over 900,000 to around 700,000. In 2023, 838,792 reporting accidents were registered in Germany, which was a decline, while the number of fatal work accidents also reached a historical low with 499, according to a report by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Occupational Medicine.

To prevent such accidents, the top principle has proven itself, which includes technical, organizational and personal measures. The provision of secure work equipment as well as the qualification and instruction of the staff are crucial. In addition, personal protective equipment such as protective helmets and safety shoes can reduce the consequences of accidents, but not always prevent accidents themselves.

The tragic case in Steyr underlines the urgent need to further improve the safety standards in the construction industry and take preventive measures to avoid future accidents.