The course and consequences of selected fatal occupational injuries involving foreign nationals in the Czech Republic in 2013–2023.

A worker from Ukraine (d.46) was working at height near a fall edge. He wasn’t wearing a helmet or assigned PPE (fall restraint system). The worker fell from a height of 5 meters, during the fall he was fatally injured by hitting his head on a steel structure.

An employee of Ukrainian nationality (†59) was carrying out road milling. The milling machine “bit” into the road surface and jumped backward, throwing the worker into the left lane, where he was struck by a passing truck. The subsequent injuries sustained were incompatible with life.

The affected employee from Ukraine (†30) was carrying out cleaning and finishing work. For unknown reasons, he climbed over wall formwork on the third floor and descended via formwork that had already been dismantled and was to be moved to another concreting site. The board overturned with him, breaking the construction railing and the affected person fell to the concrete floor of the first floor, with the formwork board then landing on him. Other workers removed the board with a tower crane and started first aid, but unfortunately CPR was unsuccessful, even after the emergency services arrived, and the worker died from the injury.

An employee of Slovak nationality (†47) entered the work area of the robotic rotary manipulator, the employee’s head was pinned by the robotic rotary arm against a conveyor. This caused a fatal injury to the employee.

The driver did not properly secure the crawler excavator on a waterlogged slope. It spontaneously slid down and pushed a 2.5 ton gas pipe into the excavation where the affected Slovak worker was located (†52). The worker was buried by the pipe and sustained injuries incompatible with life.

While graveling during facade work on a residential building, a worker from Ukraine (†53) removed the side railing of the scaffolding and fell from the sixth floor onto the sidewalk from a height of 13 meters. He did not survive the fall.

A worker from Romania (†38) was laterally moving a 14-meter-long steel beam using a chain hoist to position it for suspension on a pillar. During this transfer, the beam lost stability and fell onto the work floor was on which the affected person was standing. The beam slammed the affected person to the floor, causing fatal injuries.

The affected worker from Ukraine (†34) was working in a waste sorting facility using a forklift. Due to improper use of the forklift, it was tipped over on the side, where it pinned the worker’s the head and neck. He sustained injuries incompatible with life and died on the spot.

A worker of Slovak nationality (†37) climbed onto a roof structure after lunch to secure covering sheets with his colleagues. He did not strap himself to the anchor point and went to the edge of the structure for a cordless drill, subsequently falling off the edge of the roof for unknown reasons.

The affected employee from Slovakia (†35) fell to the ground from a construction structure from a height of about 7 meters. It was later proved that at the time of the accident the deceased was intoxicated, his blood alcohol level was 3.0 per mill.

A worker from Bulgaria (†22) was picking hops on a hop farm when she made contact with a wire – used as a hop guide and, which then electrocuted the worker with fatal consequences.

A worker of Ukrainian nationality (†18) was carrying out cleaning work on a flat metal roof. For reasons unknown, he unhooked himself from the safety rope and moved the cover plate that protected the area of the future lightwell. The worker fell from a height of 14 meters into the hall area. The injures to the body and head were incompatible with life.

An employee from Slovakia (†49) attempted to remove a protruding metal object from the bottom of an excavation using a grinder The metal part, however, turned out to be unexploded war ammunition and an explosion occurred while cutting. The injuries were incompatible with life.

The affected worker of Slovak nationality (†47) was tasked with dismantling an old fence structure and manually digging foundations for posts for a new fence. During a planned power outage, the site was empty. Contrary to instructions, he climbed on an excavator and probably touched a high-voltage line while working with the excavator. He was later found lifeless on the road next to an excavator. The affected person suffered from epilepsy, but the accident occurred without witnesses, so the exact circumstances of the death are unknown.

While another company's employee was loading a steel frame, a row of approximately 6 similar frames tipped over. This assembly pinned the injured employee from Ukraine against the conveyor frame, which had been used here as a retaining element in case of tipping of said frames. The affected person created a temporary workplace from the conveyor frame, where he was standing inside and welding at the time of the accident. The injuries were fatal.

During the break, the operator from Bulgaria (†42) was crossing to the smoking area in front of the production hall. Contrary to instructions, he did not use the designated pedestrian route but cut through a corner reserved for forklift operations. At that moment, the forklift was being maneuvered by a warehouse worker. He checked the area behind the forklift and started the maneuver. At that exact moment, the affected employee came out from around the corner and was hit by the forklift and fell headfirst to the ground. The emergency services were unable to resuscitate the affected person.

During the transport of a 12 meter long traverse by forklift, the traverse fell from a height of about 3 meters on a worker. The employee was carrying the traverse on a transport trolley raised at a height of about 6 meters. When the brake pedal was suddenly and abruptly pressed, the forklift was tipped and the traverse slid off the forks, which hit the affected worker from Serbia (†24), causing fatal injuries.

The affected worker of Romanian nationality (†48) was carrying out auxiliary work on the construction site under the supervision and direction of qualified workers. He was tasked with cleaning up materials from the construction site on the first floor and instructed to use the stairs in the building. For unidentified reasons, he used an aluminum ladder to access the terrace on the 2nd floor. When descending from the terrace using this ladder, the ladder slipped and the affected person fell from a height of about 2.9 meters with fatal consequences.

A Ukrainian national (†58) was walking outside on the pavement and suddenly entered the road, where a forklift was just passing, which hit him and picked him up on the forks. Extensive multiple injuries were incompatible with life.

A driver from Poland (†34) was raising a trailer bed when it came into contact with high-voltage power lines under which the vehicle was parked. The driver got out and touched the ground, connecting with the trailer and the power lines, resulting in fatal injuries to the driver of the vehicle.

A worker from Ukraine (†48) together with other colleagues were concreting of the upper part of a pillar for a bridge structure. Workers were being transported to the top of the pillar using a suspended crane cage designed to transport people. After completing the concreting, the affected worker decided not to wait for the crane cage and chose to descend independently using the tower scaffolding erected near the pillar. There was a gap of about 80 cm between the scaffolding and the place of work at the top of the pillar. The affected person fell to a free depth of about 15 meters and sustained injuries incompatible with life. Colleagues only heard his screams during the fall.

A worker from Slovakia (†51) together with other workers were to mount thermal sensors on the steel structure of a rack. They used a pulley lift (platform) for transport. While exiting the pulley lift, the affected individual stepped onto an outer steel plate that was not load-bearing. The plate bent under his feet, and with the counterweight of his other foot, he pushed the pulley lift away, creating a gap through which he fell approximately 20 meters onto the concrete floor of the hall. The injuries were incompatible with life. The worker did not use the harness safety rope to prevent a fall from height.

An employee from Ukraine (†38) was carrying out manual cleaning of the excavation. The machine-dug excavation measured 2 x 3 meters and was approximately 2.5 meters deep. The fire pipe was to be repaired. The employee entered the unsupported excavation, and subsequently the wall of the excavation collapsed, burying the worker. The cave-in caused injuries incompatible with life.

During the disassembly of a temporary construction structure (support scaffolding), part of the structure came loose, pulling the worker from the scaffolding from a height of about 3 meters. A worker from Slovakia (†35) hit his head during the fall, causing a skull fracture with fatal consequences.

A worker from Slovakia (†19) was carrying out finishing and cleaning work after installing thermal insulation on the roof. While cleaning up, he didn't wear PPE such as a harness and rope and didn't strap himself to the anchor point. He then tripped over the installed lightwell and fell to the lower floor. He did not survive the fall.