Many New Jersey employees work in hazardous jobs. While any loss should be taken seriously, there are some industries such as fishing and logging that leave workers especially prone to injury or death on the job. Loggers experienced a death rate of nearly 111 per every 100,000 workers in 2014 around the country. On a per capita basis, this made it the most dangerous job in America, with a rate of nearly 111 deaths per 100,000 workers.
According to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were a total of 4,821 worker injuries that resulted in death in 2014. That translates to an average of 3.4 deaths per 100,000 civilian workers in the same year, which was up slightly from 3.3 per 100,000 civilian workers in 2013. Those numbers exclude workers who were under the age of 16, those who were volunteers as opposed to employees and residents in the military.
Other takeaways from the 2014 data include the fact that being a police officer is now the 15th most dangerous job in America with 13.5 deaths per 100,000. The top five most dangerous jobs on a per capita basis were the same as they were in 2013 with fishers, aircraft pilots and flight engineers, roofers and garbage and recyclable collectors landing behind loggers.
After a fatal workplace accident, the surviving family members of the decedent will often face a struggle as a result of the loss of the contributions that the worker was making to the household budget. An attorney can determine whether they will be entitled to receive workers’ compensation death benefits under their loved one’s employer’s insurance coverage.