Workers should be able to expect a safe working environment. Yet everyday, workers across North Carolina are seriously injured or even killed on the job.
Last year, despite the availability of safety and health training programs designed to avoid these tragedies, North Carolina actually saw a rise in the number of workplace fatalities See: Workers Compensation Benefits in NC. The North Carolina Department of Labor announced that 53 people died on the job in 2011, an increase of three fatalities from the previous year.
Workplace Fatalities, By the Numbers
Accidents involving workers being hit by vehicles or equipment were the most significant cause of work-related deaths (18 of the 53 deaths), and construction workers were the most at risk of suffering fatal accidents (16 of the 53 deaths). Here are some other highlights from the report:
- 17 workers died as a result of falls
- Deaths in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries increased 150 percent (from 4 to 10)
- Wake County saw the most fatalities of any county in the state (6)
- The majority of work-related deaths were men (52 of 53)
