Catastrophic Injury Information Based on Age and Race of Employee

1.3 Age
· The average age at death for the nine-year period was 42.4 years, with a range of 9 to 85 years. Most workers (398 fatalities, 63%) who were fatally injured on the job were 45 years old or younger.

· Six workers (1%) were less than 18 years of age. These included: 3 newspaper carriers who were struck by vehicles while delivering papers; a teen worker who was fatally injured when a trench collapsed on him; a teen worker who was crushed by a street sweeper; and another teen worker who committed suicide while at work.

· Forty-nine victims (8%) were 65 years of age or older, and the risk of being fatally injured on the job increased markedly with age.  A similar age trend is seen in the national data.

· Fatality rates calculated using number of workers employed underestimate the risks faced by both older (greater than 64 years) and younger (less than 18 years) workers. Workers in both these age groups are more likely to be employed part-time; therefore their rates are higher when actual total work hours are taken into account.

· Fatal events varied by age. Forty-nine percent of the workers 65 years or older (24 fatalities) died as a result of falls compared to 19% (109 fatalities) of workers less than 65 years old.

1.4 Race and Hispanic Origin
· Based on data obtained from death certificates for fatally injured workers, 562 workers (89%) were white while 31 (5%) were black and 24 (4%) were of Asian or Pacific Islanders descent. Thirty-two workers (5%) were of Hispanic origin. 
 
· White workers had lower fatal occupational injury rates than other workers. The rate for black workers was 2.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers compared to a rate of 2.2 fatalities per 100,000 for white workers. Workers of Hispanic Origin had the highest rate of fatal injury (3.3 fatalities per 100,000 workers). Findings are consistent with previous reports that minority workers are disproportionately employed in high-risk jobs.

· Industry divisions in which high numbers of fatal injuries occurred varied by race. A high number of fatal occupational injuries among non-white workers occurred in the Trade industry whereas a high number of white workers lost their lives in the Construction industry.

· Leading fatal events also varied by the race and ethnicity of victims. Falls were the leading event among white workers, while homicide was the leading event among black, Asian, Hispanic workers.