Workplace Fatalities Happen in a Wide Variety of American Workplaces
Workplace injuries can happen in almost any job, although some workplaces certainly are deadlier than others. When thinking about particularly dangerous jobs, many of our minds go to construction work and construction accidents, or jobs that involve driving, such as trucking. A recent report from Business Insider discusses the deadliest jobs in America, and we want to take a closer look at some of the professions where we might expect injuries, as well as those where workplace accidents are less expected.
Generally speaking, the highest number of work-related deaths occurred in transportation accidents, such as car crashes or trucking collisions. But all of those fatalities are not tied to a particular job—many occurred when employees were traveling from one job site to another, or from a primary place of employment to a business meeting elsewhere. In other words, transportation accidents are not linked to one—or even a handful—particular profession. Slips and falls are also common causes of workplace injuries, yet like transportation accidents, those can occur in almost any job.
While some serious injuries and deaths occur widely across different types of jobs, some jobs are more dangerous than others. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the fatal injury rate at American workplaces is, on average, 3.5 per 100,000 workers. Yet, to reiterate, some jobs come with greater risks.
Getting the Facts: Workplace Accidents and Safety
What are those jobs? The report identified more than 30 professions that come with a higher chance of suffering a fatal workplace injury than other jobs. The following are some of those jobs, including information about the fatality rates:
- Logging workers have the greatest risk of a fatal workplace injury, with workplace deaths at 97.6 per 100,000 workers;
- Fishing is the second-most dangerous type of job in America, with a fatal injury rate of 77.4 per 100,000 workers;
- Aircraft pilot and flight engineers have the third-highest risk of a workplace fatality, with a deadly injury rate of 58.9 per 100,000;
- Roofers have extremely dangerous jobs, with a fatal injury rate of 51.5 per 100,000 workers;
- Truck drivers are at great risk of a deadly trucking accident, with a deadly injury rate of 26 per 100,000 workers; and
- Construction workers are at great risk of a serious or deadly injury, with a fatal injury rate of 21 per 100,000 workers.
Beyond these statistics, the National Safety Council (NSC) also provides the following facts and figures about workplace injuries:
- Every seven seconds, a worker suffers a job-related injury;
- 510 workplace injuries happen per hour;
- 12,600 workplace injuries occur, on average, every day, while 88,500 occur each week;
- In 2017, a total of 104 million production days were lost due to workplace injuries;
- Most common workplace injuries are sprains, strains, tears, cuts, lacerations, and punctures; and
- Overexertion is the most common workplace injury that results in lost work days, followed closely by struck-by accidents and slips, trips, and falls.
If you suffered injuries in an accident at work, contact an experienced attorney to determine your rights.
