Every hour and a half, give or take, a worker passes away in the United States. It’s a stunning toll that many people know very little about.
Given how common workplace deaths actually are, it’s important to look at the reasons these incidents happen and where they happen.
The statistics on workplace deaths
The statistic above, which is technically that a worker dies every 1.6 hours, comes from simply averaging the deaths out over time. According to OSHA, there are roughly 15 worker deaths every day. When you divide a 24-hour day by 15, you fall on one death every 1.6 hours, on average.
If that rate isn’t staggering enough, just look at the totals. In 2019, OSHA reported that 5,333 workers passed away. Since there are 52 weeks in a year, that means more than 100 workers lost their lives every week. Again, these are averages, so nothing happens on that exact timetable, but it gives you a sense of the risk.
Where do these incidents happen? Transportation is very dangerous, which makes sense because car accidents tend to take just under 40,000 lives annually. The construction industry is also very dangerous, and it accounted for about 20% of the deaths in 2019. Other dangerous occupations include things like logging, fishing, roofing, fighting fires and working with heavy machinery.
Has a workplace accident altered your life?
Were you seriously injured in a workplace accident or did you lose a loved one? Either way, you must know what legal options you have. Workers’ compensation benefits exist to provide injured workers and the families of workers who died with the financial relief they need in their time of distress. An experienced advocate can help you claim what you’re rightfully due.
