Wyoming workplace deaths increase in 2014
Wyoming workplace deaths increase in 2014
September 08, 2015 6:00 pm Benjamin Storrow
307-335-5344
Benjamin.Storrow@trib.com
The number of Wyomingites who died on the job in 2014 grew by more than 60 percent over the previous year. That was the major finding of the third annual Fatal & Non-Fatal Injuries
report released Tuesday by the state Department of Workforce Services.
It found 34 people died in on-the-job accidents in 2014, up from 21 reported to state officials the previous year. Federal officials recorded 26 workplace fatalities in Wyoming during 2013. The discrepancy is due to varying reporting requirements.
The finding represents a setback for state officials, who have long grappled with how to improve the safety of working conditions in the Cowboy State. ... Wyoming consistently ranks among the most dangerous states in the country to work, thanks in part to dangerous driving conditions and the prevalence of high-risk jobs in the energy industry and agriculture.
In 2013, the last year for which nationwide figures were available, Wyoming's workplace fatality rate of 9.5 deaths per 100,000 workers ranked
second in the nation behind North Dakota.