Pennsylvania workers who are in industries such as roofing and steel are more likely to have a fatal accident on the job than electricians or painters based on statistics released by the Bureau of Labor. The 2014 figures for the Census of Fatal Occupation Injuries show that the most dangerous jobs belong to logging workers followed by fishing workers, aircraft pilots and flight engineers.
There were 78 total deaths in the logging industry in 2014 which means there were 110.9 fatal injuries for every 100,000 people. More aircraft pilots and flight engineers, 82, were lost, but those jobs are considered less dangerous because the death rate was 64 per 100,000 workers. In the logging industry, both rough terrain and falling branches are to blame. An added complication is that logging workers are often far from medical help when they do have an accident. Truck drivers and sales workers had 880 total deaths in 2014, but again, because of the larger employment pool, the actual number per 100,000 workers is smaller at 24.7.
There were a total of more than 4,800 work-related deaths in 2014. This represents an increase compared to the past several years. Fatal statistics for 2015 are expected to be made available in December 2016.
While workers’ compensation is commonly associated with employees who are injured on the job, the surviving family members of a victim of a fatal workplace injury accident may be entitled to receive benefits under the decedent’s employer’s insurance coverage as well. These can be especially needed when the worker was the family breadwinner, and an attorney can describe the types of benefits that may be available as well as assist the family during the application process.