No one goes to work expecting to come home injured. However, any California workplace can lead to injured employees. What makes matters worse is that recent findings indicate that fatal workplace injuries are on the rise.
The data behind workplace injuries increasing
Each year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics researches occupational injuries and publishes its findings in a report. It has found that fatal work injuries increased by 5.7% compared to data from 2021.
The report shows that 5,486 fatal workplace injuries happened throughout the U.S. in 2022. Additionally, this increase in workplace fatalities also raised the U.S. fatal work injury rate from 3.6 to 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 full-time employees.
According to this report’s data, jobs involving material moving and transportation are where the highest number of fatal work accidents took place during 2022. Other alarming statistics found by the BLS noted that fatal injury rates in the workplace were higher for African American and Hispanic workers, who reported respective fatal injury rates of 4.2 and 4.6 per 100,000 workers.
Work-related mental health problems
When someone pictures workplace injuries, they likely imagine something that causes physical pain. However, a fast-growing number of work fatalities involve mental health-related issues. Unintentional work-related overdoses increased by 13.1% in 2022. Job-related suicides also increased by 13.1%.
Even as technology provides new advancements in workplace safety, employers continue to face challenges. Fortunately, workers can avoid many potential perils at work by always paying close attention to their surroundings, following safety guidelines and communicating optimally with others around them.
