Twenty-six people died in Connecticut workplaces in 2013, the fewest since the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping track in 1992.
By comparison, Connecticut had 36 work-related deaths in 2012. The highest number of annual workplace deaths on record was 57 deaths in 1998; the previous low was 28 in 2008. The 2013 numbers are preliminary and won’t be finalized until April.
Connecticut’s work-related deaths are far below the national average, where 3.2 workers died per 100,000 in 2013. Since 1992, Connecticut’s work-related death rate always has been below the national average.
In 2013, Connecticut was the eighth lowest state for work-related deaths; only South Dakota, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Vermont performed better. The states that had the most work-related deaths were Texas, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
Of the 26 deaths in 2013, seven were the result of violence in the workplace, including four suicides; seven were transportation accidents; six were fatal falls; and five were equipment mishaps. There were no deaths from fires or explosions, the third year in a row Connecticut did not have any work fatalities in that category.
Men accounted for 25 of the 26 Connecticut deaths. The age group with the most deaths (10) was the 55-64 range. The majority of those who died — 54 percent — were self-employed.
– Brad Kane
