The annual preliminary 2013 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries report cited 123 worker deaths in Indiana in 2013.
According to the Indiana Department of Labor’s website, the census “includes work-related fatalities resulting from unintentional and intentional injuries.” The CFOI corroborates these incidents with several sources before reporting them and turning them into the data available in the census.
The number 123 is a slight increase from that of 2012, which reported 115 worker deaths, but it does fit with the trend of a general decrease in these kinds of fatalities, according to a Sept. 16 Inside INdiana release. In 1994, the numbers reached a record high — 195.
This year’s numbers are the third-lowest on record.
“The Indiana Department of Labor remains committed to promoting safe workplaces for all Hoosiers through outreach, training, safety consultations, recognition for exemplary businesses and enforcement,” IDOL Commissioner Rick Ruble said in the release.
Breaking down the 123 deaths, the release reported that 58 deaths, the largest group of fatalities recorded, were because of transportation accidents. More than half of these deaths (32) “were attributed to roadway incidents involving motorized vehicles,” the release stated. The leading cause of workplace fatalities, then, are because of vehicle crashes.
Other deaths were categorized as such: “violence and other injuries by persons or animals”; “fires and explosions”; “falls, slips, trips”; “exposure to harmful substances or environments”; and “contact with objects and equipment.” In Indiana, these numbers were 26, 3, 9, 10 and 16, respectively, according to an economic news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the United States Department of Labor.
The state with the highest number of worker deaths in the year 2013 was California, with 375 — down 10 from 385 in 2012 — while the state with the lowest number was Rhode Island with eight.
The construction industry, also boasted a 32-percent decrease in worker deaths from 2012. There were 22 that year, while 15 deaths were ?recorded in 2013.
“We (the Indiana Department of Labor) strive to help Indiana employers improve their safety and health practices to adopt a culture of safety,” Ruble said in the ?release.
Anicka Slachta
