Occupational Fatalities in Rhode Island

Rhode Island

Occupational fatalities, also known as workplace fatalities, represent unsafe working conditions and personal risks faced by workers. In 2021, there were 5,190 fatal workplace injuries in the United States. Transportation incidents accounted for the majority of fatalities (38.2%). Per capita, logging occupations had the highest rates of workplace fatalities in 2021, followed by fishing and hunting occupations.

The total cost of workplace injury and death in the U.S. was estimated at $167 billion in 2021, including workers' compensation, administrative expenses, wage and productivity losses, medical fees and damages to company property.

Populations that experience higher rates of workplace fatalities include: 

• Men compared with women.
• Black and Hispanic workers compared with the overall population. 
• Adults ages 55-64 compared with those in other age groups.

Workplace fatalities are largely preventable, making them an important target for interventions. Improvements to workplace safety are regarded as one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.

Strategies for preventing workplace injuries and fatalities include:

• Increasing safety precautions and regulatory oversight.
• Encouraging employers to continuously identify, evaluate and minimize dangerous conditions.
• Providing high-visibility apparel to all workers in highway construction zones.
• Equipping workers with proper safety gear and training to prevent fatal falls from roofs, ladders and scaffolding.
• Allowing workers to unionize. The recent decline in unionization rates in the U.S. — due in part to right-to-work laws — has been associated with increased occupational fatalities.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces safety regulations and provides training materials to help employers prevent workplace fatalities.

Reducing deaths from work-related injuries across all industries is a Healthy People 2030 objective.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Improvements in Workplace Safety -- United States, 1900-1999.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 48, no. 22 (June 11, 1999): 461–69.
https://www.cdc.gov/Mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4822a1.htm.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, October 2016. https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA3885.pdf.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “Training Requirements in OSHA Standards.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 2015. https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/osha2254.pdf.

Smith, Gordon S. “Public Health Approaches to Occupational Injury Prevention: Do They Work?” Injury Prevention 7 (September 1, 2001): i3-10. https://doi.org/10.1136/ip.7.suppl_1.i3.

Zoorob, Michael. “Does ‘Right to Work’ Imperil the Right to Health? The Effect of Labour Unions on Workplace Fatalities.” Occupational and Environmental Medicine 75, no. 10 (October 2018): 736–38. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2017-104747.