Uninvestigated Fatal Workplace Injuries in the United States

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boggess B ; Pompeii L
• Description:
  Background: Approximately 5000 people are killed by an injury at work every year, but the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) only investigates 25%-35% of these deaths. The aim of this study was to identify industry, geographic, and worker demographic disparities in the proportion of fatal workplace injuries that are investigated by OSHA. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis drew from 2 years of public data (2014-2015) from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and investigation data from OSHA. Differences by worker age and sex, geographic region, industry, and State Plan- versus Federal Plan-state were examined. Results: Nationally, OSHA investigated about one in four (27.5%) of the 9657 fatal workplace injuries that occurred. Higher odds of uninvestigated fatalities were observed for female workers compared to male workers (odds ratio, 2.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.89, 2.93), for workers over age 65 compared to those aged 18-24 (3.05; 2.44, 3.82), for worker deaths occurring in State Plan states compared to Federal Plan states (1.64; 1.49, 1.79), among other differences. Conclusions: Although some of the disparities could be explained by OSHA jurisdiction restrictions, other areas of potential reform were identified, such as investigating a greater number of workplace violence deaths and increasing focus in industries with a low proportion of investigations but a high number of fatalities, such as transportation and warehousing. Consideration should be given to adapt policies, expand OSHA jurisdiction, and to increase OSHA resources for conducting both fatality investigations and proactive investigations that can identify and abate hazards before a worker is injured. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Demography Hazardous Substances Healthcare Disparities Health Promotion Men Mortality Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Transportation Violence Women Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Age Groups Author Keywords: Health Disparities Cross Sectional Studies Demographic Characteristics Fatalities Hazard Communication Hazard Controls Health Disparities Health Policy Health Programs Health Protection Humans Injuries Occupational Hazards Occupational Safety And Health Administration OSHA Policy Statistical Analysis Transportation Industry Transportation Workers Traumatic Injuries Warehousing Work Environment Workplace Fatalities

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  63
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060845
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2020 Nov; 63(11):1029-1037
• Contact Point Address:
  Bethany Boggess, MPH, 1616 Guadalupe St., Suite 6.300, Austin, 1770 FM 97, Buda, TX 78610, USA
• Email:
  bcboggess@gmail.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9f3192c4785c6b39eaa73193c6b44a2a5fbcb5d04973aed3265d26caad47c407d17630b5c5c7fbcf6a10354a3087580679cf26d7732eb430bb1a1e5ef2a8d4a0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224640/cdc_224640_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 649.32 KB ]