Fatal Workplace Injury Incidents – Statistics and Considerations

by John Gomez | Last Updated: June 10, 2016

Everyone who attends a workplace faces some sort of risk between the time we leave home and the time we return. Obviously, some occupations involve much more risk of harm than others. The bottom line is that we all need to work in order to put food on our tables and roofs over our heads.

For some people, this involves reporting to jobs that are extremely dangerous, even though they may not be very enthusiastic about doing so. Fatal workplace injury incidents occur with alarming regularity across the United States.

Our look into different dangers as we bring awareness to National Safety Month will focus today on the most common types of fatal workplace injury incidents and some considerations that will hopefully keep people as safe as possible.

California Causes of Fatal Workplace Injury Incidents

The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, tracks several different types of workplace issues, including incidents that lead to injuries and fatalities. According to the BLS, which breaks some data down by state, the following were the five leading causes of fatal workplace injury incidents in California during the calendar year 2014:

Transportation incidents
Violence and other injuries caused by people or animals
Slip and fall accidents
Contact with objects and equipment
Exposure to harmful substances or environments

A full state-by-state breakdown of the number of workplace deaths in 2014 as compared to 2013 can be found here. Overall, 334 people were killed in California fatal workplace injury incidents in 2014. That represents a drop from the 396 people who were killed in the workplace across the state in 2013. While it’s encouraging that the number went down, that still means that more than one person is killed in California every single working day of the year.

Fatal Workplace Injury Considerations

Given the high number of deaths that occur in the workplace in California every year, it may be worthwhile to provide some suggestions for keeping yourself as safe as possible while you are at work:

Speak up – If you notice something is amiss and that it creates a potentially dangerous situation, speak to your supervisor about it. Perhaps he or she will help you either remove or minimize the danger.
Know your risks – As stated above, certain occupations come with more risk of harm and death than others. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to understand what you’re getting into. This chart, also provided by the BLS, is a handy reference tool.
Check insurance – There are several forms of insurance that could help you should you be injured and help your family if you are killed while at work. Make sure you are aware of those and that you obtain the proper coverage.
Know your rights – You cannot be forced to work in an unreasonably dangerous environment. If you are, you should speak to a workplace injury attorney so that you can understand your legal options.

Overall, we hope that whatever you do for a living that you are as safe as possible every day. If you have lost someone you love while he or she was at work and you feel it was the result of negligence, recklessness or even intentional conduct, contact the worker safety lawyers at Gomez Trial Attorneys today to schedule a free initial consultation.

John Gomez

John Gomez founded the firm alone in 2005. Today, John acts as President and Lead Trial Attorney. He has been voted by his peers as a top ten San Diego litigator in three separate fields: Personal Injury, Insurance and Corporate Litigation. Since 2000, he has recovered over $800 million in settlements and verdicts for his clients with more than 160 separate recoveries of one million dollars or more. A prolific trial lawyer, John has tried to jury verdict more than 60 separate cases.

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