On-the-Job Accident Statistics

Every day, you go to work and perform the essential duties of your job, never expecting a shift to end in a serious or catastrophic personal injury. Yet hundreds of workers in Las Vegas, Nevada suffer injuries in on-the-job accidents each year. Most accidents that cause serious and fatal worker injuries are preventable, and qualify you to receive workers’ compensation benefits.

Worker Injury and Death Statistics in the US

Workers suffer on-the-job injuries every day in the US. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported in 2019 alone. This number remained unchanged from 2018.

Here are highlights from the most recent BLS report:

• Manufacturing was the number one industry for on-the-job accidents in the US, accounting for 15% of all nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the private sector. The most common injuries reported in manufacturing were strains, sprains and tears.
• The occupations with the highest numbers of injuries that required time off work in 2019 were laborers and freight, stock and material movers, followed by commercial truck drivers.
• Of the 2.8 million reported incidents, 888,220 required private industry workers to miss at least one day of work. The median number of missed workdays was 8 for workers under the age of 65, and 16 for workers over 65.

Recording national occupational injury statistics can allow the federal government to pass laws and create programs that better protect workers in all 50 states, including Nevada.

Workplace Accident Statistics in Nevada

On-the-job accident statistics in Nevada are provided by the State Department of Industrial Relations. The latest accident and injury statistics reveal the following workplace accident facts:

• In 2019, the deadliest occupations in Nevada by number of deaths were transportation and material moving (12 deaths); installation, maintenance and repair (8 deaths); and construction (5 deaths).
• The most common types of fatal accidents in 2019 were transportation accidents (18 deaths), slip/trip and falls (9 deaths), violence (6 deaths), and exposure to harmful substances (5 deaths).
• The total workplace injury rate in Nevada in 2019 was 5 recordable incidents per 100 workers.

A workplace injury or illness is very personal to you as a victim. Know, however, that you are not alone. Thousands of workers suffer serious injuries in on-the-job accidents in Nevada each year. The risk of getting injured on the job increases, however, based on your industry.

Construction Is the Deadliest Industry

Each year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) comes out with an updated list of commonly used statistics. OSHA is the government entity responsible for enforcing federal workplace safety and health regulations. OSHA has 1,850 inspectors in charge of investigating all workplace accident and injury claims in the US.

OSHA accident statistics consistently name construction as the deadliest occupation in the private industry. In 2019, 5,333 total workers lost their lives in the US. Of these, 20% of deaths (1,061) were in construction. This means one in five fatalities were construction workers. Common fatal accidents in construction are falls, electrocutions, struck-by objects, and caught-in/between objects and equipment.

What to Do If You’re Injured on the Job

Employers have a duty to keep employees reasonably safe. If an employer breaches a duty of care, and this results in worker injury or illness, the employer will be financially responsible. A personal injury lawsuit is a claim that seeks to recover financial benefits from one or more parties for carelessly or recklessly causing an injury.

A worker could also be eligible for financial benefits through a workers’ compensation claim in Nevada. This is a no-fault system, meaning proving a breach of duty is not a requirement. A personal injury claim, on the other hand, does not operate under a no-fault system. The damages available, however, may be greater in a personal injury lawsuit than a workers’ comp claim.

For more information about your rights and legal options after an on-the-job accident in Las Vegas, Nevada, contact an attorney.