Work-related deaths down in Texas, data shows
San Antonio Business Journal - August 14, 2007
Texas employers were able to reduce the number of workplace deaths in 2006, compared to the previous year, according to newly released labor data.
There were 486 work-related fatalities in Texas in 2006. This is down slightly from the 495 fatalities recorded in 2005.
The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation, compiled the state data based on the Aug. 9 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries report. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics supplied the state and national data.
Of the deaths that occurred in Texas in 2006, transportation-related incidents continued to be the leading cause of fatalities, accounting for 41 percent of the deaths; another 29 percent occurred in construction and extraction-related jobs.
Within the construction trades, the most pervasive form of fatality occurred through falls.
The balance of workplace deaths in 2006 occurred after workers were either struck by objects, came in contact with electrical currents, died in fires or explosions, or were victims of homicides. Thirteen people died from self-inflicted wounds.
Nationwide, there were 5,703 fatal work injuries in 2006, a one-percent decrease from the 5,734 fatalities recorded in 2005.