It is gut-wrenching to realize that so many construction workers face a serious risk of death by suicide in this country. It is a danger facing everyone working in our construction industry here in Illinois and Indiana.
We all need to understand this reality and work towards solving this absolutely unacceptable risk facing our construction workers today.
Anonymous Help Available 24/7
First of all, it is important to share that any construction worker contemplating ending their lives can contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (dial 988) or join in a confidential online chat at 988/lifeline.org/chat. Both are manned and ready to help 24/7. This can be totally anonymous. There is no charge.
Please consider making that call or entering that chat if you have any thoughts whatsoever of taking your life.
How bad is this danger of suicide for our construction workers?
Working construction brings with it a shockingly high risk of becoming a victim of suicide. The Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (“CIASP”) warns that:
Statistically, construction occupations exhibit both the highest rate of suicide and the highest number of suicides across all occupational groups.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) confirms that “the construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates of any occupation.” For more, read Construction Worker Suicides: We Need to Help End This Crisis.
What is going on here?
CIASP explains that there are “…combination of workplace, cultural, and personal factors…” that contribute to the high number of construction worker suicides today. Its’ research points to things like (1) construction’s “tough-it-out” culture; (2) the nature of the work itself; and (3) the risk that military veterans working on the job face as compared to the general population.
Explains one researcher:
The socioeconomic composition of the construction industry is male-dominated and reflects historical conventions and cultural expectations surrounding traditional gender roles that are associated with stereotypes of masculinity. Since the work is physically taxing, a deeply embedded expectation of mental and physical toughness has created a culture that highly values resilience and physical endurance and makes it difficult for workers to admit any type of weakness. Thus, mental health problems have become stigmatized and segued into a phenomenon commonly known as a “silent pandemic,” wherein employees don’t disclose their issues. Sadly, their silence prevents them from getting help and exacerbates their challenges.
What can we do?
OSHA provides “5 Things You Should Know” in its online construction worker suicide prevention efforts. From this we can find stuff we can do, like:
- Talk about it with a co-worker when you “sense something is wrong,” because it may be easier for someone to talk about difficult topics with those they work with day by day, someone who understands what the workplace stressors are like.
- Construction sites should include education and awareness for warning signs of suicide, so construction workers understand when someone is in danger here, signs that may involve: (a) changes in behavior; (b) changes in mood; (c) conversation hints; or (d) hints in social media posts.
- Anyone knowing someone working construction with a concern about that worker can simply ask them “are you okay?” Just listening without making judgments can be very helpful. And helping that at-risk construction worker seek out help (maybe HR, maybe a counselor or pastor or priest) is not being intrusive, it’s being compassionate.
- There may be instances where a co-worker is in obvious distress. Maybe it is on the jobsite, maybe it’s after hours. If there is a crisis situation, understand the importance of staying there, supporting them, while getting help. Call 911. Call 988 (the free suicide lifeline).
For Loved Ones Suffering After Construction Worker Suicide, Is There Legal Recourse?
Talk to some of our local construction workers, and you can get a sense of how stressful and driven these construction sites can be: filled with noise and hubbub; constantly changing conditions; and of course, the constant pressure of meeting deadlines. Construction project managers are very, very alert to avoiding “delay damages.”
The war stories of experienced construction workers may be filled with colleagues who turn to alcohol or drugs to cope with things (“Jim Beam is my counselor”). Depression and anxiety are commonplace for construction workers, no matter the trade or type of project.
For many grieving the loss of a beloved friend or family member, it is easy to point the finger to their work and particularly the construction company that employed them.
But is there any legal liability for that construction company for a construction worker who dies by suicide?
1. Civil Claims for Damages
Court case precedents are filled with loved ones seeking civil damages after a construction worker suicide, and many times the ruling has not been in their favor because suicide is traditionally viewed as an intentional act, a decision made by the individual to end their lives, and as such is not the result of a breach of safety by the employer.
However, there are instances where construction worker suicide claims have been respected. Each matter must be reviewed and researched on its own individual terms.
For instance, one such case comes from the Illinois Supreme Court back in 1962, where the widow of a construction worker won her fight for damages based upon her husband’s suicide. Harper v. Industrial Comm’n, 24 Ill.2d 103, 180 N.E.2d 480 (1962).
As explained in a later opinion, Bocian v. Industrial Comm’n, 282 Ill. App. 3d 519, 668 N.E.2d 1 (1996), the Harper court noted:
“While the act of suicide may be an independent intervening cause in some cases, it is certainly not so in those cases where the incontrovertible evidence shows that, without the injury, there would have been no suicide; that the suicide was merely an act intervening between the injury and the death, and part of an unbroken chain of events from the injury to the death, and not a cause intervening between the injury and the death. (citations omitted) (Emphasis in original.)” Harper, 24 Ill.2d at 109, 180 N.E.2d 480.
The Harper court, quoting Professor Larson’s treatise on Workman’s Compensation Law, further noted: “The [suicidal act] was an intervening act but not an intervening cause. An intervening cause is one occurring entirely independent of a prior cause. When a first cause produces a second cause that produces a result, the first cause is the cause of that result.” [citation] (Emphasis added.) Harper, 24 Ill.2d at 108, 180 N.E.2d 480.
2. Workers’ Compensation Death Benefits
Workers’ compensation benefits are independent from any civil damage claims. They are awards overseen by the state workers’ compensation systems of Illinois and Indiana. Specific state statutes require employers to buy work accident liability insurance policies to cover employees hurt or killed on the job. For more, read Five Key Differences Between Workers’ Compensation and Civil Claims After Work Accident.
After a construction worker suicide, the worker’s compensation insurance policy must be reviewed for its provisions covering death benefits to surviving family members in the event that the employee dies as a result of bodily injuries suffered or related to the job. Death benefits may include things like lost wages, funeral expenses, and medical costs.
The details here are all defined by state statute, from the benefits themselves to the definition of “employee” to those who are considered beneficiaries under the policy coverage.
It may be possible for the widow and others (as defined by the workers’ compensation statutes) to obtain workers’ compensation coverage death benefits after a suicide but this will also be a legal battleground and the particular facts of the case will be vital to obtaining benefits.
Unacceptable Danger of Construction Worker Suicides in Illinois and Indiana
It is horrific to realize how our local construction workers go to a job each and every day with well-known dangers on the job like falls; hazardous materials; toxic chemicals; motor vehicle accidents; electric burns or electrocutions; trench collapses; or crushing accidents. Their risk of catastrophic harm or death in a work accident is already excessively high, with employers and others on the jobsite failing in their duties of care and safety.
It is infuriating to know that these same workers also face such a great risk of death caused by suicide brought about by work-related issues. The construction industry is recognized for its high suicide rate and this needs to stop. Increasing awareness of this reality is one tiny step to positive change.
For more, read:
- The Construction Workers’ Viewpoint: Work Site Safety and Suicide Rates
- Prescription Drugs That Can Cause Suicide: More People Die from Suicide in the U.S. Than Car Accidents; The Dangers of Prescription Drugs
- Construction Work Accident Injury Claims and OSHA Regulations
- New 2026 BLS Study: Fatal Work Accident Warnings for Construction Workers.
Our sincere condolences to anyone grieving the loss of a construction worker to suicide. For any worker out there contemplating suicide as a solution, please know there are people out here ready and willing to help you avoid this and find an alternative path. Construction work is so very hazardous. Please be careful out there!
