The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (“BLS”) Occupational Safety and Health Statistics Program, under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Labor, has released its latest findings on fatal workplace injuries in this country, with data covering the 2021 calendar year. Read: The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) USDL-22-2309, released December 16, 2022 (“CFOI”).
Things have become much more dangerous for the American worker, with more occupational fatalities being reported in 2021 than in the past five (5) years.
This is a significant statistical jump which has safety agencies and advocates for work accident victims and their families very concerned. The report confirms a shocking 8.9% increase in fatal worker injuries in a single year (from 2020 to 2021).
According to the BLS, a worker died every 101 minutes in 2021.
The new fatality report should be shared with everyone on the job here in Indiana and Illinois, particularly those employed in notoriously dangerous industrial workplaces like construction, commercial trucking, and manufacturing. The risk of dying in an industrial work accident is unacceptably high today, and employers apparently cannot be relied upon to keep employees safe from harm.
BLS Fatality Report: The Most Dangerous Jobs
In its report, the BLS delves into various industries to determine who faces the greatest risk of a fatal work accident. According to their research, it is workers in (1) transportation and (2) material moving that suffered the greatest number of job fatalities. Construction and extraction work tallied as the second most deadly line of work in the country.
Transportation Industry
Anyone working in transportation and material moving faces the greatest danger of dying in a work accident, cautions the BLS. The new CFOI findings:
- Transportation accidents caused the greatest number of reported work-related deaths in 2021.
- Transportation fatalities accounted for 38.2% of all work-related deaths in 2021.
- Workers in transportation and material-moving saw an astonishing 18.8% increase in fatalities in one year’s time (2020 to 2021).
- There was a 16.3% jump in fatalities involving drivers, sales workers, and truck drivers.
For more on the dangers facing the transportation industry, read: Truck Safety Coalition Releases 50-Page Report Denouncing Trucking Industry’s Position on Nuclear Verdicts.
Construction Industry
Those working construction and extraction jobs died at the second highest fatality rate according to the CFOI. Of note were deadly falls, slips, and trips which increased 7.2% in 2021.
This is particularly shocking, given earlier confirmations from OSHA that for the past twelve (12) years, the number one safety regulation most often ignored by employers involves fall protection for workers. Read, Fall Protection on the Job Remains Top OSHA Safety Violation for 12th Straight Year.
Also see: Fatal Falls in Construction Caused by Employers Failing to Plan for Worker Safety and Deadly Construction Fall Accidents in Illinois and Indiana.
Exposure to Harmful Substances or Environments
Across various industrial worksites, the risk of death from worker exposure to either (1) harmful substances or (2) harmful environments reached the highest fatality rate since the BLS began its annual CFOI reports in 2011. In one year, this fatality rate rose 18.8%.
For more on harmful substances or environments, see: Chemical Injuries on the Job: Continued Widespread Failure to Comply with Federal Safety Standard and Chemical Accidents: Burns, Inhalation, or Neurological Work Injuries on the Job in Indiana or Illinois.
Workers Facing Highest Risk of Death on the Job
Across the various industries, the CFOI findings reveal that some workers are facing a greater risk of suffering fatal injuries in a work accident than others. From the BLS:
- Black or African American workers fatally injured on the job reached an all-time high in 2021, with worker deaths for this group jumping 20.7% in 2021.
- Women made up 8.6% of all workplace fatalities and 14.5% as a result of intentional injuries by a person.
- Older workers between the ages of 45 and 54 years old had a 13.9% increase in occupational fatalities. This worker group accounted for just over one-fifth (20.9%) of the total worker fatalities.
Employers Must Respect the Legal Duty of Care and Safety Owed to Workers
It is infuriating to learn that not only are workers not becoming safer on their jobsites, but that the BLS findings confirm that workers face an on-the-job fatality rate that is higher than it has been in the last five years. Safety experts, worker victim advocates, employers, and insurance carriers are well aware that almost every work fatality is the result of a preventable accident.
If safety regulations are followed and employers respect and meet their legal duties of safety and care on the worksite, then these fatalities do not happen. There are not only federal and state safety regulations but there are industrial safety standards that educate and empower employers in protecting their employees.
From the Department of Labor’s Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, Doug Parker:
“Today’s announcement by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of a one-year increase of nearly 9 percent in fatal work injuries serves as call to action for OSHA, employers and other stakeholders to redouble our collective efforts to make our nation’s workplaces safer….
“Each of these deaths cruelly impacts these workers’ families, friends, co-workers and communities. They are clear reminders of the important work that must be done. OSHA and its thousands of professionals across the nation are determined to enforce the law while working with employers, workers, labor unions, trade associations and other stakeholders to ensure that every worker in the U.S. ends their workday safely.”
How can so many workers be dying from work accidents in the face of established safety guidance? Employers must answer this question. They must rise up and respect the duty of care owed to their workers.
And when they fail to do so, and a worker is killed on the job, then state and federal law comes into play to provide avenues for justice. This can be through workers’ compensation statutes as well as personal injury laws involving negligence, defective products, premises liability, and more.
Read:
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
- Workplace Safety and OSHA Regulations in Indiana and Illinois
- 2021 Top Ten List of OSHA Safety Violations: Known and Unresolved Accident Dangers Facing Workers Today
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents.
Our workers deserve so much more than the latest fatality report reveals. The rising death rate reported by the BLS is unacceptable. Every industrial employee in Indiana and Illinois must be made aware of the great danger they face today from a fatal injury on the job, especially those in transportation and construction work. Please be careful out there!
