Workplace Deaths in Oregon, March 11

Thirty-one people covered by the Oregon workers’ compensation system died on the job during 2014, the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) announced Tuesday, March 10. It’s up slightly from 2013’s figure of 30 deaths but continues to be consistent with fatality counts in recent years. The year 2010 marked the state’s all-time low of 17 deaths. That figure was likely tied, in part, to the economic downturn. In 2012, there were 30 deaths and, in 2011, 28 people died on the job. State and local government saw the largest concentration of deaths in 2014, with five workers killed in that industry. The agriculture sector, which includes logging operations, had four deaths – the same as transportation and warehousing. “Although Oregon workplaces are safer today than in previous decades, there are still far too many preventable tragedies each year,” said Patrick Allen, director of DCBS. “We must continue our commitment to eliminating hazards in the workplace so that all Oregon workers can come home safely at the end of the day.” Workplace fatalities are down significantly compared to previous decades. In the 1990s, there was an average of 55 workplace deaths per year. In the 1980s, the average was 81 deaths. The statewide rate of reported workplace injuries and illnesses has also decreased more than 50 percent since the late 1980s. Oregon started tracking workplace deaths in 1943.