Dangerous Occupations Most Linked to Wrongful Death and Workplace Injury
As personal injury and wrongful death attorneys, we deal with on-the-job injuries and fatalities on an almost-daily basis. While it is impossible to predict which individual worker will be injured or killed, we have noticed that certain jobs are far more dangerous than others. With thanks to the U.S. Department of Labor and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these are reported to be the ten most dangerous jobs in the United States.
1. Logging and Timber Workers
- Fatal Injuries In 2016: 91
- Fatal Injury Rate Per 100,000 Workers: 135.9
Although there are relatively fewer professional logging and timber workers than there are in most other jobs, your chances of suffering an on-the-job injury or death is the highest in the nation. The high rates suffered by these workers is undoubtedly due, in part at least, to their daily proximity to heavy equipment, the isolation of their usual work sites, and to the difficulty of promptly transporting injured workers to a medical facility.
2.Commercial Fishermen and Related Fishery Workers
- Fatal Injuries In 2016: 24
- Fatal Injury Rate Per 100,000 Workers: 86.0
Commercial fisherman and workers in offshore canneries are just as isolated, if not more so, than commercial loggers and other timber workers. However, strict monitoring by the Coast Guard and state regulators is probably a factor in minimizing the number of accidental deaths and injuries in this group of workers.
3. Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers
- Fatal Injuries In 2016: 75
- Fatal Injury Rate Per 100,000 Workers: 86.0
Pilots and flight engineers employed by the major airlines and regional carriers enjoy some of the nation’s safest job conditions. The vast majority of injuries and deaths in this category involve “unscheduled “ carriers such as sightseeing tours and emergency medical services aircraft.
4. Roofers
- Fatal Injuries In 2016: 101
- Fatal Injury Rate Per 100,000 Workers: 48.6
Like structural steel workers (see below), roofers work outside in all types of weather and generally without safety devices in the event of a fall.
5. Refuse (Garbage) and Recyclable Material Collectors
- Fatal Injuries In 2016: 31
- Fatal Injury Rate Per 100,000 Workers: 34.1
6. Structural Iron and Steel Workers
- Fatal Injuries In 2016: 16
- Fatal Injury Rate Per 100,000 Workers: 25.1
Although small in absolute number, these workers are usually employed in construction jobs that are often at heights above ground-level and also work without a “safety net” or similar protection in the event of a fall.
7. Delivery Drivers, Sales Workers and Truck Drivers
- Fatal Injuries In 2016: 918
- Fatal Injury Rate Per 100,000 Workers: 24.7
The high number of fatalities in this group are undoubtedly related to the fact that most such injuries are received in highway traffic accidents.
8. Farmers, Ranchers and Agricultural Managers
- Fatal Injuries In 2016: 260
- Fatal Injury Rate Per 100,000 Workers: 23.1
Farm and ranch workers have one thing in common with loggers, miners, and commercial fishermen: they usually work in isolated areas that are some distance from emergency medical services and hospital care.
9. Special Construction Trades and Extraction Workers, including Supervisors
- Fatal Injuries In 2016: 134
- Fatal Injury Rate Per 100,000 Workers: 18.0
This relatively-small group of workers is almost entirely composed of oil and gas-field workers as well as miners as above-ground and underground miners. Job site location and/or the use of explosives are undoubtedly factors in many these cases of these deaths.
10. Grounds Maintenance (Landscape) Workers
- Fatal Injuries In 2016: 217
- Fatal Injury Rate Per 100,000 Workers: 17.4
We Represent the Victims of On-The-Job Injuries and Their Families
Please note that the numbers cited above represent only deaths that occurred on-the-job and do not reflect the number or workers who are injured while at work. Using only conservative estimates, we feel that the number of workers who are seriously injured while at work is somewhere between 10 to 20 times higher than the number of those who die as a result of such injuries. Every state’s workman’s compensation laws allow you to file a lawsuit if it is felt that an offered workman’s compensation settlement does not reflect the real nature of a worker’s losses due to an on-the-job injury or death!
Our nationwide firm has more local offices than any other on-the-job injury / wrongful death practice in the United States. If you, or a family member, suffered an injury that was directly-related to employment, we would like to hear from you. Our initial consultation s always free and places you under no obligation. Should we both decide that our firm should represent you, we will assume responsibility for all aspects (including financial) of your case in return for am agreed-upon percentage of the final settlement that we will win for you.