While statistics are not available for 2020 yet, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the numbers of workplace injuries for 2019 in December. They found that 2019 followed the trend for the last seven years of increased workplace fatalities. In 2019, deaths reached a 12-year high. Employees in Minnesota and other locations across the nation died at a rate of one every 90 minutes.
Fishing and related industries
Sinking ships account for about 50% of all fatalities in the fishing industry. Ship decks can be slippery, which may account for many anglers who die from falling overboard. The largest group of anglers worked along the East Coast, but other large groups worked in Alaska and along the Gulf of Mexico.
Logging workers
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the second most dangerous job in America is logging. While it is tough to control which direction a tree will fall, most of those fatalities came from working with machines like chainsaws and other logging machines. Some workers fell out of trees while others had the tree fall on them.
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers
Being an aircraft pilot or a flight engineer may sound like a fun job, but it is the third deadliest profession in America per 100,000 people. Many of those who died in 2019 worked for small private companies in the transportation and warehousing industries while others worked in education and health services, including air ambulances. If your loved one has died in an airplane or helicopter accident while working, then a workers’ compensation lawyer may be able to help you seek benefits from their employer.
Roofers
Some roofers lose their balance and fall from roofs to their deaths. Others forget to watch above them and encounter live powerlines, and some are hit by roofing debris that either kills them instantly or causes them to fall.
If you are left to deal with the horrible aftermath of a workplace death or injury, the legal process of obtaining compensation may be confusing. A lawyer may be able to help.