You sometimes hear people say that the most dangerous industry in the United States is construction. The reason they say this is because it leads to the highest number of fatal on-the-job accidents every year. This is true, and many of these deaths are due to the Fatal Four: Falls, electrocutions, struck-by accidents and caught-between accidents.
But does that mean it really is the most dangerous occupation you can choose? Statistics can be somewhat deceiving. It really depends on how you look at fatal accidents across various industries.
What is the accident rate?
When looking at construction, people are typically pointing to the overall numbers. But part of the reason why there are so many fatal accidents in construction is simply because there are millions of workers. This is indeed a high-risk profession—with common dangers like falls from heights, crush injuries and injuries caused by power tools or heavy equipment—but there is also major exposure to risk simply due to the size of the workforce.
If you instead look at fatal accident rates, smaller but more dangerous professions tend to jump to the top. One example is agriculture or logging. Another is fishing—especially deep-sea fishing. These are vastly smaller industries overall, but the rate at which people pass away in jobsite accidents—the number of deaths per 100,000 workers—is much higher.
Have you lost a loved one in a fatal workplace accident? No matter what industry they worked in, you need to know how to seek financial compensation for medical bills, lost earnings, loss of consortium and much more.