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Each year in the United States more than 6,000 workers are fatally injured on the job. In this section, data on fatal occupational injuries in Massachusetts from 1991-1999 are compared with the CFOI findings for the country as a whole. National data from 1992 - 1999 were used for this comparison where indicated. National employment estimates from the Current Population Survey were used to calculate the national rates. 2.1 Rates of Fatal Occupational InjuriesMassachusetts compares favorably to the nation in terms of many different health outcomes10 and our occupational fatality experience is no exception. The annual occupational fatality rate for Massachusetts was lower than the national rate for each year of the period under consideration (Chart 9). In most years, the state rate was approximately half that of the nation. This difference in fatality rates is likely explained in part by differences in the industrial composition of Massachusetts’ workforce as compared to that of the nation. For example, 32% of the Massachusetts workforce was employed in the service sector between 1991 and 1999 as compared to 27% of the U.S. workforce. Nationally, proportionately more workers were employed in higher risk industry divisions such as Agriculture, Construction, and Transportation and Public Utilities (Table 8). However, industry-specific fatality rates, except in the Agriculture industry division, were also lower in Massachusetts than in the nation as a whole. Massachusetts’s rates for the Manufacturing, Trade, and Transportation and Public Utilities divisions were less than half the national rates for these industry divisions. An overall standardized fatality rate11 for Massachusetts (standardized by the direct method to the 1992-1999 industrial composition of the nation) was calculated to determine how much of the difference in rates could be attributed to the difference in industry mix. The overall standardized fatality rate for Massachusetts was 2.6 fatalities per 100,000, still substantially lower than the national rate of 4.8 fatalities per 100,000 workers. State and national differences in workforce composition within industry sectors were not accounted for and could also contribute to the differences in state and national rates. These findings, however, do suggest that the difference in industrial composition of the workforce between Massachusetts and the nation alone cannot explain the observed rate differences. A review of fatalities by occupation yielded similar findings. Massachusetts had lower fatal occupational injury rates than the nation for all occupation groups (Table 9). As with industry, some but not all of this difference was explained by differences in the workforce composition of the state compared to that of the nation. Proportionately more of the nation’s workforce was employed in highrisk occupation groups such as Farming, Forestry and Fishing and Operators, Fabricators and Laborers. An overall occupation-standardized fatality rate for Massachusetts was also calculated taking into consideration these differences in the occupation composition of the state and national workforce; this standardized rate was 3.0 fatalities per 100,000 workers, still much lower than the national rate of 4.8 fatalities per 100,000 workers. Another important factor contributing to lower occupational fatality rates in Massachusetts is that homicide and highway motor vehicle related fatalities, two events that contribute substantially to the occupational fatality burden, are low in the Massachusetts general population compared to the nation. The average crude homicide rate in the general Massachusetts population for the eight-year period between 1991 and 1998 was 3.4 fatalities per 100,000 population while the comparable rate for the nation was 8.7 fatalities per 100,000 population.12 Massachusetts also had a lower traffic fatality rate of 0.8 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled as compared to a national rate of 1.5 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.13 transportation incidents for Massachusetts. The annual average work-related homicide rate in Massachusetts was 0.3 fatalities per 100,000 workers between 1992 and 1999; while the national rate was 0.8 fatalities per 100,000 workers. Similarly, the rate of fatal work-related highway transportation incidents in Massachusetts was lower at 0.3 fatalities per 100,000 as compared to a national rate of 1.0 fatalities per 100,000 workers. The low overall homicide and traffic fatality rates in Massachusetts, however, provide only a partial explanation for the difference in the occupational fatality rates between Massachusetts and the nation. Occupational fatality rates computed excluding homicide and highway traffic fatalities reduced, but did not eliminate, the gap between the state and national rates (Chart 10). Likely, numerous additional factors such as the comparatively high levels of education and socioeconomic status in Massachusetts, the higher proportion of unionized workers in the state (15%), and greater access to emergency medical services also contribute to the low occupational fatality rates in Massachusetts. Further research is needed to examine factors accounting for the difference between the national and state rates. 2.2 Fatal Events As discussed above, the contribution of homicide and highway motor vehicle incidents to the occupational fatality burden is low in Massachusetts as compared to the nation. As a consequence, falls accounted for a much higher proportion of the work-related fatalities in Massachusetts during the study period (21%) than they did in the country as a whole (11%) (Appendix 2). Falls to a lower level stood out as the single leading event in Massachusetts. 2.3 Age, Gender, Race and Hispanic Origin The distribution of fatal occupational injuries in Massachusetts was similar to national findings with respect to gender, age, and employment status. However, Massachusetts’ victims were more likely to be white and less likely to be Hispanic than victims in the country as a whole, which likely reflects differences in the underlying racial and ethnic composition between the nation and Massachusetts workforce (Appendix 2). As mentioned previously, the high fatal occupational injury rates for Hispanic workers and older workers observed in Massachusetts have also been reported for Hispanic and older workers nationwide.14 Chart 9. Fatal Occupational Injury Rates by Year, Massachusetts and U.S., 1992-1999 Table 8. Percent of Labor Force and Percent & Rate of Fatal Occupational Injuries by Industry Division, Massachusetts and U.S.
* Includes the self-employed and family workers. Excludes Forestry & Fishing. ** Rate not presented due to small number of fatal injuries (fewer than 10). NOTE: Dashes indicate that there were no fatalities during the period. Employment estimates from Current Population Survey were used to compute percent of labor force and fatality rates. Table 9. Rates of Fatal Occupational Injuries by Occupation Groups Massachusetts, 1991-1999 and U.S., 1992-1999
Chart 10. Rates of Fatal Occupational Injuries Including and Excluding Homicide and Highway Traffic Fatalities, Massachusetts and U.S., 1992-1999 10 The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts online, http://www.statehealthfacts.org/, July 17, 2002. 11 The Mining and Finance, Insurance & Real Estate industry divisions were excluded from rate computation. 12 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Injury Mortality reports, http://www.cdc.gov, July 18, 2002. 13 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Traffic Safety Facts 1999, U.S. Department of Transportation. 14 Rates calculated from CFOI annual reports indicate that fatality rates for older workers and Hispanic workers are higher compared to younger workers and workers of other races and ethnicity. Back to Contents |
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