There are many ways to gauge workplace risk. On-the-job dangers come in many forms and can cause a host of injuries, illnesses, or even fatalities. Regardless, workers are entitled to protection by workers’ compensation.
Many government and insurance entities keep track of workplace accidents and fatalities. For this post, we looked at data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics that show the 10 civilian occupations with the highest work fatality rates in 2016, the latest year for which complete information is available.
Counting down the fatality rates
10: Grounds maintenance. There were 217 deaths recorded in this line of work across the country in 2016, a rate of 17.4 per 100,000 full time workers.
9: Construction and extraction work supervisors. People in this category deal with drilling, blasting, explosives, mining and the like, and there were 134 deaths in this line of work in 2016, a rate of 18 per 100,000 full time workers.
8: Agriculture workers. This includes farmers and ranchers and there were 260 deaths in 2016, a rate of 23.1 per 100,000.
7: Drivers. This occupation stands out as the one with the greatest number of deaths overall at 918, a rate of 24.7 per 100,000 drivers.
6: Structural metal workers. 16 ironworkers died in 2016, but because there are so few of them, this translates to a high death rate of 25.1 per 100,000 iron workers.
5: Refuse and recycling collectors. 31 workers died in fatal work accidents, a rate of 34.1 per 100,000.
4: Roofers. There were 101 fatalities in 2016, which equals a rate of 48.6 per 100,000 roofers.
3: Aircraft pilots and engineers. The 2016 tally was 75, making the rate 55.5 per he per 100,000.
2: Fishing. These are commercial fishery workers. There were 24 deaths in 2016, a rate of 86 per 100,000.
1: Lumberjacks. Extreme heights and bad weather can make for hazardous work. 91 logging workers died in 2016, a rate of 135.9 per 100,000 lumberjacks.
If you have questions about a workplace injury, contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.