According to the findings of a preliminary report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, Latino workers are dying at higher rates in workplace accidents than other workers, as they continue to take on more and more of the country’s toughest and most dangerous jobs. According to the report, of the 4,405 U.S. workers killed on the job in 2013, 797 were Latinos, which means that 3.8 of every 100,000 Latino employees working full-time in the United States are dying in on-the-job accidents. If you have been injured in a workplace accident in Georgia, or if you lost a loved one in a fatal job-site accident, contact our knowledgeable attorneys at Rechtman & Spevak today. With our workers’ compensation lawyers on your side, you may be able to pursue the financial compensation you deserve for your losses.
On-the-Job Fatalities on the Rise for Latinos
The government report indicates that the workplace fatality rate for Latinos in 2013 was marginally higher than the 3.7 per 100,000 workers killed in job site accidents in 2012, and was significantly higher than the 2013 fatality rates for white workers (3.2), African American workers (2.9) and Asian workers (1.5). In addition to a perceived reluctance of Latino workers to protest job site hazards, workplace safety experts attribute these alarming fatality rates to weak federal and safety regulations, as well as an increasing tendency for employers to give the most dangerous jobs to temporary workers, regardless of their level of training.
Workplace Injuries, Fatalities in the U.S.
Some recent job site deaths in the United States include a fatal accident at a Wire Mesh Sales LLC factory in Florida, where 32-year-old Luis Rey Pavia died after being struck by a piece of equipment while trying to retrieve a metal bar that had fallen into a wire mesh manufacturing machine. Upon investigating the workplace accident, OSHA discovered that two other workers had suffered major injuries on the same machinery in the past – one who had a limb amputated and another who suffered a crushed forearm. OSHA’s chief, David Michaels, discussed this job site accident last month while outlining new rules adopted by the agency for reporting severe injuries, noting that immigrant workers “are vulnerable workers, and they often have the worst jobs.”
Another Latino worker, Adan Sotelo Preciado, was killed on the job last year when he fell from the roof of a building at a South Dakota construction site. According to the accident report, Preciado was helping build an addition on a warehouse when he stepped from the metal decking onto an unsupported section of insulation, falling 20 feet to the concrete floor below. Preciado, who found the job through an ad on the Craigslist website, received no training prior to doing the work and wasn’t even given a safety harness to protect him against the risk of falls – one of the most common causes of workplace fatalities on construction sites.
Our Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Can Help
Unfortunately, statistics show that the on-the-job fatality figures for 2013 are more or less in line with the annual totals for more than five years running. “There hasn’t been much change, which means that we’re not making the kind of progress that we need and, for some groups, things have gotten more hazardous,” said Peg Seminario, safety and health director for the AFL-CIO labor federation. If you have suffered injuries in an on-the-job accident in Atlanta, Marietta, or elsewhere in Georgia, consult our reputable workers’ compensation lawyers at Rechtman & Spevak to discuss your legal options. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries and medical expenses, which our attorneys can help you pursue.
Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.htm
