Working in Ohio Might Kill You

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The total number of fatal work injuries is up slightly across the nation, according to year-over-year data released by the U.S. Department of Labor. Ohio's total of 202 fatal injuries made it the state with the fifth highest number of work-related deaths.

The department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics last week released data related to fatal occupational injuries in 2015. The year-over-year comparison found in the National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2015 shows only a slight elevation in the number of deaths nationally. A total of 4,836 fatal work injuries were logged across the country in 2015 versus 4,821 in 2014.

Ohio's number of fatal injuries rose year-over-year. The bureau recorded 185 work-related injury deaths in 2014 compared to the 202 documented in 2015. That number puts Ohio behind Texas (527), California (388), Florida (272) and New York (236).

While the elevation in fatalities was slight nationwide year-over-year, the bureau said the number recorded in 2015 was the highest since 2008 when 5,214 fatal injuries occurred in workplaces across the country.

Although Ohio's total number of deaths was the fifth highest in the nation, the state’s incident rate of deaths per 100,000 full-time workers is lower than many others. Ohio came in 20th place based on its 3.9 rate of deaths per 100,000 workers in 2015. North Dakota came in first with a rate of 12.5 fatal injuries per 100,000 workers in 2015.

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers experienced more fatalities nationwide in 2015 than workers in any other occupation, the bureau said. The number was 745. The private construction industry as a whole (all occupations considered) also saw 937 fatal work injuries in 2015. The bureau said that number is the highest since 2008 when 975 workers died.

Older workers accounted for fewer deaths in 2015 than they did in 2014. Even so, the 650 deaths involving workers age 65 and older in 2015 was "the second-largest number for the group since the national census began in 1992,” the agency reported. The number in 2014 was 684.

The census also looked at how workers died with transportation-related incidents topping the list over the year. The total number was 2,054, which includes aircraft, roadway, rail and pedestrian-related accidents.

Falls, slips and trips were blamed in 800 deaths across the country with violence and other injuries accounting for 703 deaths. The number of workplace-related homicides was 417 in 2015, up from 409 in 2014. Suicides in the workplace dropped from 280 nationally in 2014 to 229 in 2015.

To check out the full report, visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics online.

Sherri Lonon contributed to this article

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