PUBLISHED
May 1, 2018
WRITTEN BY
Ryan LeClaire
14 American workers will die on an average day, according to
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). The AFL-CIO recently released their 27th annual report on the state of safety and health protections for America’s workers, and their findings are as tragic as ever.
The Data Reveals:
• An average of 14 workers die because of job injuries each day
• In 2016, 5,190 workers lost their lives on the job as a result of traumatic injuries
• Another 50,000-60,000 workers will die from occupational diseases each year
• At least 150 workers die each day due to job injuries and illnesses
As a whole, nearly 3.7 million workers across all industries had reported work-related injuries and illnesses, with 2.9 million injuries and illnesses reported in private industry.
“These numbers are very concerning. The number of workers killed is almost 7% higher than reported in last year’s AFL-CIO study,” said Josh LeBrun, President & Chief Operating Officer of eCompliance.
He added, “What’s concerning is the injury numbers are likely much, much higher. We’re still seeing chronic under-reporting when it comes to workplace injuries.”
In fact, the AFL-CIO has stated the true injury toll is likely 2x or 3x greater, which would put it around 7.4 million to 11.1 million injuries and illnesses a year.
The report also values the cost of these injuries and illnesses at a staggering $250 billion to $360 billion a year.
To put that number in perspective, the direct medical costs (total of all health care costs) for cancer in the US in 2015 were $80.2 billion.
The data also points to several demographics as particularly vulnerable to workplace injuries or deaths. For example, 67% of the Latino workers killed on the job were immigrant workers.
Elsewhere, workers aged 65 and older have fatality rates 2.5 times higher than the national average, while we have seen a 158% increase in people from that age bracket on the workforce since 1990.
Did these numbers get your attention? We are committed to eliminating 1,000,000 workplace incidents by the year 2020.
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