BLS Reports 17% Decline in Workplace Deaths in 2009 « Houston Accident Attorney | Texas Personal Injury Lawyer Houston

BLS Reports 17% Decline in Workplace Deaths in 2009

The Bureau of Labor Statistics last week released a report on workplace accidents and fatalities in 2009. There was a decline of 17% in fatal workplace accidents in the US in 2009 compared to the previous year. The fatality count last year was 4,340 workers, down from 5, 214 deaths in 2008.

The number one cause of death in the workplace continues to be transportation accidents. However, even in this category there was a decline of 21% in the numbers of people killed. Some of the other findings that came out from the study:

There was a decline of 1% in workplace homicides in 2009. The homicide total for 2009 includes the 13 victims of the Fort Hood shooting in Texas.

Fatalities among wage and salary workers declined by 20% in 2009, compared to a decline of 3% for self-employed workers.

The drop in fatalities was seen in almost all sectors, except the wholesale trade industry which actually recorded an increase in fatalities.

There was a drop of 16% in construction site accident-related fatalities in 2009.

There was a drop of 24 % in fatalities among Hispanic and African American workers.

There was an increase of 6% in fatalities in grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations in 2009. This was one of the few occupations where there was an increase in deaths last year.

Before we get too excited at the decline in workplace fatalities, it would be advisable to step back and look at where we are in 2010. We’re nowhere close to the end of the year, and there’s already been a devastating mine explosion that killed 25 people, a catastrophic oil rig explosion that killed 11 workers, and several fatal refinery explosions. When the final death toll is counted for 2010, we might find that this has been one of the worst years for workplace fatalities.

Vuk Vujasinovic is a Houston work accident lawyer, representing injured victims of workplace and industrial accidents around Texas and nationwide.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – billjacobus1