Report: Workplace Fatalities Rising In Wisconsin

The latest numbers on work-related deaths in Wisconsin show 104 people died on the job in 2015, an increase from 2014.

Wisconsin has an average of 98 work-related deaths in a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

That number has been rising the last few years and the reason why is unknown, said Rebecca Adams, program manager of the occupational safety health group within the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It could be a fall, it could be a trip, transportation incident. So there’s many different reasons why this would happen, but most of them I would say are accidental in nature,” Adams said.

Manufacturing deaths rose in 2015 from 11 to 14, she said. Construction deaths remain unchanged at 14. And farm-related deaths decreased slightly from 27 in 2014 to 26 in 2015.

“(Farmers) tend to have the highest number of fatalities in Wisconsin out of all the different industries,” Adams said of the agriculture industry. “They decreased slightly, however it still remains the highest rate of fatalities in Wisconsin, this particular group.”

Adams said most fatalities, regardless of industry, happen behind the wheel.

“So if you’re in a work-related capacity – whether it’s delivery-truck driver, construction worker, it could be a semi-truck driver, it could be a farmer in the field driving a tractor – so there is a wide range of what we mean by transportation incidents.”

Statistics show workers in Wisconsin between the ages of 55 and 64 were the most likely to be fatally injured on the job.

The number of work-related deaths in the United States in 2015 was 4,836, according to national figures released Friday. This is an increase from 4,821 in 2014.