There were 4,679 workplace fatalities in the U.S. in 2014, an increase of 2% over the 4,585 fatal work injuries in 2013, according to the annual Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of fatal work injuries in private goods-producing industries in 2014 was 9% higher than 2013 count but slightly lower in private service-providing industries.
These are preliminary figures – final counts will be released in the spring of 2016.
Increases include:
- Police officers and police supervisors 17%
- Mining 17%
- Agriculture 14%
- Women 13%
- Self-employed workers 10%
- Farming, fishing and forestry 9%
- Workers 55 and older 9%
- Manufacturing 9%
- Construction 6%
- Contracted workers 6%
- Deaths from slips, trips and falls increased 10%
A few other notable issues from the report:
- Transportation and material moving occupations accounted for the largest share (28%) of fatal occupational injuries of any occupation group.
- Transportation incidents accounted for 40% of fatal workplace injuries in 2014
- Violence-related fatalities dropped. Workplace homicides were about the same as in 2013,
but workplace suicides decreased slightly. Among the workplace homicides in which women.
were the victims, the greatest share of assailants were relatives or domestic partners (32%) In workplace homicides involving men, robbers were the most common type of assailant (33%).
Related Matter
Top 10 Causes of Workplace Injuries – The Insurance Journal reports on the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety’s 2014 Workplace Safety Index, which ranks the top 10 causes of serious, nonfatal workplace injuries. The report uses the insurer’s workers comp claims data, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and from the National Academy of Social Insurance. They include this chart in the article:
Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards
1. Fall protection, construction
2. Hazard communication standard, general industry
3. Scaffolding, general requirements, construction
4. Respiratory protection, general industry
5. Powered industrial trucks, general industry
6. Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), general industry
7. Ladders, construction
8. Electrical, wiring methods, components and equipment, general industry
9. Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements
10. Electrical systems design, general requirements, general industry
Do’s and Don’ts of an OSHA Inspection – includes a short video and an infographic