Report: Texas Worker Deaths Up 3.6% in 2009
Associated Press—August 20th, 2010
Workplace homicides and suicides in Texas each increased by almost a quarter last year as the state saw a 3.6 percent increase in worker deaths from the previous year, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report released Thursday.
Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that Texas had 480 workplace deaths in 2009, including 163 from transportation incidents and 93 from assaults or violent acts, such as robbery. The total number of deaths was 17 more than in 2008.
Transportation deaths are consistently the leading category, said John Greeley, spokesman for the Texas Department of Insurance. The state agency’s workers compensation division compiles data for the federal report, which isn’t yet final.
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In Texas, 463 workplace deaths were reported in 2008, a decrease from the 528 workers who died in 2007. In 2006 489 deaths were reported, and there were 495 a year earlier.
Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, a consumer advocacy group, said workers have no state agency to ensure safety.
“We don’t have a formal process to police and oversee the safety of workers, and we don’t have a legal system in place that allows workers who are injured to hold their employers accountable,” he said.
Read More: Statesman.com
