Despite the decline in on the job construction deaths nationwide, Texas experienced a twenty-six percent rise in such deaths last year. In addition to experiencing the highest number of building industry jobsite deaths in the decade since record keeping began, construction related injuries are at historical highs with over 33,000 reported in 1999. Adding to the emotional loss the families of these workers suffer, is the fact that they often face financial problems and lengthy lawsuits against employers in the aftermath of these accidents.
See KATHERINE YUNG, The Dallas Morning News, September 9, 2001