Tragedy as worker dies from head injuries while pouring concrete amid a 'spike' in falls from building sites

A construction worker has died after falling more than two metres at a building site, prompting a warning about a spike in similar incidents.

The 56-year-old was pouring concrete when he fell and suffered life-threatening head injuries at a residential site at Doncaster East in Melbourne, WorkSafe said.

The fall happened on March 26 and he died in hospital two days later.

The workplace health and safety regulator said his death was the 11th confirmed workplace fatality this year and there's been a 'tragic spike' in serious falls at building sites recently.

There were four similar incidents over nine days and six others during the previous three weeks.

They included a 31-year-old worker seriously injured after falling three metres from a roof in Brunswick East and a 53-year-old who suffered back and pelvic injuries after falling from a house in Portarlington.

Earlier in March, a 28-year-old was left with serious spinal and head injuries after falling almost four metres from a ladder in Carrum Downs and a 32-year-old suffered head injuries after falling onto a concrete slab at Glen Waverley.

The regulator's executive director of health and safety Narelle Beer says the jump in incidents is frustrating because falls are preventable. 

'A fall can happen in just seconds but the consequences can last a lifetime, including devastating injuries and loss of life,' Dr Beer said.

'It might be easy to think that a tragic incident will never happen on your site, but if safety is not the top priority every day then the chances are high that it will.'

Four of Victoria's 18 workplace deaths in 2023 were construction workers who fell from a height.