QUICK BITS
Fatal Workplace Injuries Up in 2015
The U . S . Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of workplace fatalities recorded in 2015 was the highest in seven years at 4,836 . That figure is higher than the 4,821 reported in 2014 , and the highest figure since the 5,214 reported in 2008 , according to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries . Hispanic or Latino workers incurred 903 fatal injuries in 2015 , the most since 937 fatalities in 2007 , while workers age 65 years and older incurred 650 fatal injuries , the second-largest number for the group since the national census began in 1992 , but down from the 2014 figure of 684 . Roadway incident fatalities were up 9 percent from 2014 totals , accounting for over one-quarter of the fatal occupational injuries in 2015 . Meanwhile , workplace suicides decreased 18 percent from 2014 , but homicides rose 2 percent . Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers recorded 745 fatal injuries , the most of any occupation . The 937 fatal work injuries in the private construction industry in 2015 was the highest since 975 cases in 2008 .
FEBRUARY 2017 • DITCHMEN 13