In general, fatal workplace accidents are preventable. In Massachusetts during 2013, 57 workers died in fatal workplace accidents; Worcester County accounted for three fatal workplace deaths. Construction workers were at the highest risk, along with self-employed workers, followed by occupations engaged in material moving and transportation workers, agricultural workers and fishermen. In Massachusetts during 2012, 33 workers died in fatal workplace accidents; Worcester County accounted for eight of these deaths. The workers with the highest risk were occupations engaged in material moving and transportation workers followed by construction workers, agricultural workers and fishermen.
During 2013, the average age of workers killed in workplace accidents in Massachusetts was 51. When considering the victim’s age and a potential average life span of 75 years, the workplace deaths in Massachusetts during 2013 resulted in an average of 25 potential years lost per worker for a total of 1,413 potential years of life lost. During 2012, the average age of workers killed in workplace accidents in Massachusetts was 47, which equates to a total of 916 potential years of life lost.
Different options may be available to victims of a workplace accident, and their families, depending on the unique circumstances they face. Depending on who is responsible for the workplace accident and the harm suffered by the victim and the victim’s family, personal injury and wrongful death options may be available. Personal injury and wrongful death options allow victims of negligent parties to recover damages for the harm they have suffered, including medical expenses, funeral expenses, loss of support and services and lost prospect of inheritance.
Damages suffered following a fatal accident of any kind, including a fatal workplace accident, are uniquely personal. The legal process strives to meet the needs of victims and provides options and resources they can seek out when they have been wrongfully harmed.
Source: Mass.gov, “Fatal Injuries at Work Massachusetts Fatality Update, 2013,” Accessed Sept. 20, 2015
