Texas recorded a preliminary total of 456 work-related fatalities in 2010, a 5 percent decrease compared to the revised 2009 total of 482 fatalities, the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) reported.
A preliminary total of 4,547 fatal work injuries were recorded nationally in 2010, about the same as the final revised count of 4,551 in 2009, according to data released on Aug. 25, 2011, by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).
From 2003 to 2010, Texas recorded as few as 440 work-related fatalities in a year (2004) to as many as 528 fatalities in a year (2007). Data from 2010 are preliminary, the TDI-DWC said.
Despite a decrease in total fatalities in Texas in 2010, the category of transportation incidents experienced an increase of 20 percent from 2009 and continued to be the leading cause of fatalities with 196 incidents (43 percent of the total fatalities).
The increase in transportation incidents includes increases in aircraft incidents, highway incidents, and pedestrians struck by vehicles, mobile equipment .
Highway incidents accounted for 68 percent of the transportation incidents in 2010. Trucks were involved in 75 percent of the highway incidents, 53 percent of the incidents involved collisions with another vehicle, and 57 percent of the employees involved were in the transportation and material moving occupations.
Protective service occupations accounted for 11 percent of the total highway incidents.
Pedestrians struck by vehicles or mobile equipment accounted for 13 percent of the transportation incidents in 2010.
Tractor trailer trucks were involved in 40 percent of those incidents and 20 percent of those pedestrians were truck drivers.
The incident locations accounting for 20 percent of pedestrian incidents were: road construction zones, street and highway, and parking lots.
Aircraft incidents accounted for 9 percent of the transportation incidents in 2010. Eighty two percent of the aircraft incidents involved were wage and salary employees. Eighty eight percent of the employees involved were males, and 35 percent of the employees were in the 55 to 64 year range.
Although assaults and violent acts was the second highest cause of fatalities in 2010, the category experienced a decrease of 21 percent from 2009 and a decrease of 30 percent in workplace homicides.
Workplace suicides remained unchanged from 2009.
The motive for 48 percent of the homicides was robbery and a firearm was used in 77 percent of those robberies. The employee tending a retail establishment, such as a convenience store or pawn shop, was a victim in 33 percent of the homicides.
Fatalities resulting from falls decreased 39 percent from a high in 2009 (82 incidents) to 50 incidents in 2010, the record low since 2003.
Falls from scaffolds, staging decreased 67 percent and falls from ladders decreased 54 percent.
Falls involving Hispanic or Latino employees decreased by 51 percent from 2009 and, for the first time since 2003, falls were evenly distributed among White, non-Hispanic employees, with 48 percent each.
Two thirds of the falls occurred in the construction industry, similar to the 67 percent in 2009.
Source: TDI-DWC
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