Census Of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research Articles

Occupational fatalities among grounds maintenance workers in the United States (2016-2020).

In 2019, grounds maintenance work was ranked among the most dangerous jobs in the United States. The objective of this study was to provide a national profile of fatal injuries of grounds maintenance workers. Data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and Current Population Survey were analyzed to determine grounds maintenance worker fatality rates and rate ratios during 2016-2020. During the 5-year study period, a total of 1064 deaths, or average fatality rate of 16.64 deaths per 100,000 full-time employees (FTEs) was identified in grounds maintenance workers compared to 3.52 deaths per 100,000 FTEsfor all occupational worker deaths in the United States. The incidence rate ratio was 4.72 per 100,000 FTEs[95% CI:4.44-5.02; p < 0.0001]. The primary events or exposures that led to work-related deaths were transportation incidents (28.0%), falls (27.3%), contact with objects and equipment (22.8%), and traumatic acute exposures to harmful substances or environments (17.9%). Black or African American workers had higher death rates, while Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for over one-third of all occupational-related fatalities. Each year, fatal work injury rates were consistently nearly fivetimes higher among those employed in grounds maintenance work than all US worker fatalities. Wide-ranging safety intervention and prevention measures are needed to protect workers. Future research efforts should employ methods that include qualitative approaches to gain a better understanding of worker's perspectives and employer's operational work practices to mitigate risks that contribute to these high work-related fatalities.

Examining injury trends in parcel delivery drivers in the United States: Challenges and opportunities.

Growth of e-commerce has caused a vast increase in parcel delivery, which raises concern for safety of drivers and other road users as more deliveries take place. This project analyzes injury/illness and fatality trends among workers with delivery-related NAICS codes using three major sources of occupational hazard data in the United States: the Survey of Occupational Illnesses and Injuries, the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, and the Industrial Tracking Application. Descriptive statistics were employed to illustrate trends over time as well as to highlight opportunities for improved data collection and dissemination. The number of injuries to drivers has risen sharply over the past decade. Some of this increase appears due to growth of this industry, but increasing overall rates suggest the industry is becoming more hazardous. While nonfatal injuries were typically caused by continuous workplace exposures (e.g., repetitive strain, contact with object/equipment), fatalities were almost exclusively caused by transportation incidents. Additionally, crucial aspects of these trends are difficult or impossible to analyze given the current data landscape. Observed trends reinforce earlier calls for additional scrutiny of working conditions that threaten drivers. Injuries caused by transportation incidents are likely more severe than others and highlight the danger the transportation system poses to drivers and others. Current data collection and dissemination processes offer room to improve in terms of understanding how to prevent future injuries.

Robot-related fatalities at work in the United States, 1992-2017.

Industrial robots became more commonplace in the US workplace during the mid- to latter part of the twentieth century. Recent scientific advances have led to the development of new types of robots, resulting in rapidly changing work environments. Information on occupational robot-related fatalities is currently limited for this developing field. Robot fatalities were identified by a keyword search in restricted-access research files from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) surveillance system of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the years 1992-2017. There were 41 robot-related fatalities identified by the keyword search during the 26-year period of this study, 85% of which were males, with the most cases (29%) occurring within the age group 35-44 years. Fatalities occurred primarily with large employers that were geographically clustered, with the Midwest accounting for 46% of the total. Most of the cases involved stationary robots (83%) and robots striking the decedents while operating under their own power (78%). Many of these striking incidents occurred while maintenance was being performed on a robot. The changing nature of robotics in the workplace suggests that emerging technologies may introduce new hazards in the workplace. Emerging technologies have led to an increase in the number of robots in the workplace and toincreased human exposure to robotic machinery. These patterns demonstrate that public health professionals will likely face significant challenges to keep pace with developments in robotics to ensure the safety and health of workers across the country.

Fatal Injuries in the Health Care and Social Assistance Industry, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2011 to 2019.

This study aimed to describe the characteristics of workers in the health care and social assistance industry who experience fatal occupation injuries and the nature of these injuries. Fatal occupational injury rates were calculated for workers in the health and social assistance industry according to age, sex, race ethnicity, industry, and year. There were 1224 fatalities among workers in the health care and social assistance industry, resulting in a rate of 6.7 fatalities per 1,000,000 worker-years. The rate of fatal injuries was highest among older workers, men, and Black and White workers. The highest number of fatal injuries was transportation and violent incidents. The highest mortality rates were in the vocational rehabilitation services industry. These findings can be useful for identifying methods for intervening and preventing fatal injuries among workers in the health care and social assistance industry.

Association Between Fatal Occupational Injuries and State Minimum-Wage Laws, 2003–2017

Low wages are associated with an increased risk of occupational injuries. Increasing the minimum wage is one way to increase workers' wages; however, a previous study found that higher state minimum wage was associated with an increase in nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses. This study aims to examine the association between state minimum-wage laws and fatal occupational injuries. Fatal occupational injury data (2003-2017) for the 50 U.S. states were obtained from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. State minimum-wage law information was obtained from Temple's LawAtlas website. Linear and Poisson regression models were used to analyze the association between state minimum-wage laws and the rates of fatal occupational injury per 100,000 workers. All data were analyzed in 2020. Having a state minimum wage higher than the federal minimum had no statistically significant association with fatal occupational injury rate, (-4.0%, 95% CI= -9.1, 1.5). State minimum wage amount was also not associated with fatal occupational injuries (-4.0%, 95% CI= -9.1, 1.5). Although previous research suggested that state minimum-wage laws were associated with increased rates of nonfatal occupational injuries, these findings indicate that these laws are not associated with an increased risk of fatal occupational injuries. Concerns that raising the minimum wage will lead to worse workplace safety may be unfounded.

Assessing the Magnitude of Nonworker Deaths During Workplace Homicide Incidents: An Epidemiological Analysis Using the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS).

Recent workplace homicide investigations have noted that the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) has several limitations that reduce our ability to understand who dies as part of a workplace homicide incident. We sought to assess the magnitude of nonworker deaths associated with workplace homicide incidents. Using National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) data from 2003 to 2017, we employed a descriptive epidemiological investigation. The counts of worker and nonworker deaths during a workplace homicide incident were ascertained, as well as other characteristics (e.g., gender, age, mechanism of death, and race/ethnicity). We used multiple logistic regression to estimate the relationship between incident characteristics and the odds of having a nonworker death. Across the study period, there were 2,020 workplace homicides. The number of deaths associated with workplace homicide incidents increased 8.2% when considering nonworker deaths (n = 2,186). Including those nonfatally shot as part of a workplace homicide incident increased causalities by 18.2% (n = 2,388). If a firearm was used during perpetration, the odds that a nonworker was killed during a workplace homicide incident increased 3.76 times (95% confidence interval: 2.03, 6.96). Considering nonworkers killed as part of workplace homicide incidents is essential to understanding the true magnitude of violence associated with these incidents. Likely, it is the lethality of firearms that greatly increases the likelihood that nonworkers are killed as part a workplace homicide incident. To best understand the epidemiology of workplace homicide incident, we recommend CFOI adopt an incident-based method for coding workplace deaths.

Uninvestigated fatal workplace injuries in the United States

Approximately 5000 people are killed by an injury at work every year, but the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) only investigates 25%-35% of these deaths. The aim of this study was to identify industry, geographic, and worker demographic disparities in the proportion of fatal workplace injuries that are investigated by OSHA. This cross-sectional analysis drew from 2 years of public data (2014-2015) from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and investigation data from OSHA. Differences by worker age and sex, geographic region, industry, and State Plan- versus Federal Plan-state were examined. Nationally, OSHA investigated about one in four (27.5%) of the 9657 fatal workplace injuries that occurred. Higher odds of uninvestigated fatalities were observed for female workers compared to male workers (odds ratio, 2.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.89, 2.93), for workers over age 65 compared to those aged 18-24 (3.05; 2.44, 3.82), for worker deaths occurring in State Plan states compared to Federal Plan states (1.64; 1.49, 1.79), among other differences. Although some of the disparities could be explained by OSHA jurisdiction restrictions, other areas of potential reform were identified, such as investigating a greater number of workplace violence deaths and increasing focus in industries with a low proportion of investigations but a high number of fatalities, such as transportation and warehousing. Consideration should be given to adapt policies, expand OSHA jurisdiction, and to increase OSHA resources for conducting both fatality investigations and proactive investigations that can identify and abate hazards before a worker is injured.

JA:2021-40. What about the Rest of Them? Their Lives Mattered Too: Fatal Agricultural Injuries Not Captured by BLS/CFOI

ABSTRACT Purpose: Agricultural workers are seven times more likely to die on the job than non-agricultural workers. These numbers are likely underestimates of fatal incidents. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) captures fatalities in production agriculture as part of the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), but there are significant caveats based on the special circumstances of agriculture as compared to other industries. BLS reports of agricultural workplace injuries are important to surveillance. However, it should be made clear in publicly issued reports what is included in the case definition for agriculture. CFOI covers all occupational agriculture fatalities (to the best of CFOI ability), but excludes child and non-worker bystanders and public roadway collision victims who were not working, even if a working farm machine was directly involved. Methods: We identified cases from AgInjuryNews.org that did not meet the criteria for CFOI but are related to agriculture. As part of our ongoing study, these cases will be further reviewed by BLS staff for inclusion or exclusion from CFOI. For this presentation, cases were divided into specific themes for discussion. Findings: Three overall themes were identified: 1)Who is working and does it matter? 2) Where does the workplace end? 3) Does it have to be farm work? In theme 1, we highlight two cases involving children who were injured while not directly engaged in farm work. For theme 2, an agritourism and a public roadway incident were discussed. Lastly, theme 3 describes all-terrain vehicle cases where the riders were performing work that is not directly related to production agriculture or were impacted externally by production agriculture. Translation: What do we lose by excluding non-occupational victims of public roadway, youth, and other non-working farm injuries? What is the purpose of agricultural injury surveillance? If injury prevention is a primary goal, we should continue to analyze data related to agricultural injury, regardless of victims’ occupational status. The Farm and Agricultural Injury Classification (FAIC) System is one effective way to distinguish between production agriculture (occupational) and bystanders, etc. Results from this study exemplify the gaps in current agricultural injury surveillance, uncover a more complete picture of agricultural injury burden, and help move the conversation toward organizational and federal policy discussions.

JA:2021-3. Dissemination and Adoption of AgInjuryNews.org: A Publicly Available Collection of Agricultural Injury Media Reports

ABSTRACT Purpose: Agriculture, Fishing, and Forestry (AFF) is the most dangerous occupation in the United States with 22.8 fatalities per 100,000 workers and a youth fatality rate of 28.21 per 100,000 workers as of 2017. As of 2015, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) discontinued its Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), leaving an absence of a nationally representative agricultural injury surveillance system. AgInjuryNews.org aims to fill this gap in AFF injury surveillance through news media reports. In addition to multiple peer-reviewed publications, a 3-week advertising campaign on Facebook.com was undertaken. This project investigates and discusses these methods of implementation, dissemination, and diffusion throughout the agricultural safety and health discipline. Methods: User data were extracted via Google Analytics from January 27, 2015 to October 1, 2019. Advertising campaign effectiveness was determined through Facebook and Twitter integrated analytics. Tweets from October 1, 2018 to October 1, 2019 were coded into themes and categories and analyzed. Retention is defined as the ratio of returning users to total users and is discussed via common behavioral metrics. Results/Findings: The majority of users were from major US metropolitan areas and areas home to large agricultural research centers. High retention was found in users from areas with a high AFF population and the presence of National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) agriculture centers. Users from universities and professional agriculture safety and health networks stayed on the site longer and had a lower bounce rate than those from social media. Facebook advertising attracted many new visitors but had poor retention and visit duration. Twitter posts with direct referrals and mentions yielded the highest engagement rate, while article links yielded the most impressions. Practical Application: The AgInjuryNews.org database can be useful to AFF professionals, and its continued growth better enables more informed decision-making and research activities. These findings better inform the methods and channels to use when disseminating AFF safety and health information. Results from this project indicate that Facebook and Twitter can be useful platforms for outreach, but strategies that specifically target agricultural safety and health stakeholders still need refinement.

JA:2021-10. The Epidemiology of All-Terrain-Vehicle Injuries: 2015-2017

ABSTRACT Purpose: Injuries related to the operation of off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), continue to be a significant public health concern, especially in rural areas and agricultural production. In fact, a previous study of ATV-related occupational deaths utilizing the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries found 61% were in the agriculture production industry, and the ATV-related fatality rate per million workers in agriculture was 143 times greater than all other industries. This study was designed to describe the characteristics of ATV injuries and fatalities by using three different national databases. Methods (if applicable): Data on ATV-related injuries and fatalities during the years 2015–2017 was obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), AgInjuryNews.org (AIN), and Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Results/Findings: We are currently analyzing the data for this ongoing study. A preliminary analysis was performed on FARS, AIN, and NEISS for 2015–2017. By using FARS, we identified 1004 ATV roadway fatalities in 974 crashes. These crashes were mostly single-vehicle (76%) and not a collision with a motor vehicle (77%; overturn/rollover, fall from the vehicle, hit fixed object) crashes. There were 156 fatal and 114 non-fatal agriculture-related ATV injuries by using AIN dataset. Of these injuries, 46% were to youth aged 16 years or younger, and 25% of the victims were using ATV for farm work at the time of the incident. Using NEISS data, an estimated 325,096 ATV-related injuries were treated in U.S. emergency departments from 2015–2017. Almost 30% of these injuries were to youth aged 16 years or younger. Practical Application: By presenting the results from these three datasets, we are hoping to provide a more complete picture of the burden of ATV-related fatalities and injuries. This is much needed to effectively inform injury prevention efforts in rural areas and in agriculture.

A Regulatory Policy Strategy for Protecting Immigrant Workers

Immigration has become a focal point of many political campaigns, most notably that of President Trump in 2016 and again in 2020. Populist rhetoric also decries immigrant workers for taking Americans’ jobs and depressing wages for US-born workers. Yet immigrants serve a constructive role by working in some of the most dangerous occupations in the country. In fact, it is well-known that immigrant workers, particularly those from Mexico with limited English language skills, face a higher workplace fatality rate than native workers. Efforts to reverse this trend have long been the focus of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which undertook numerous policy initiatives under the Bush and Obama Administrations to reduce immigrant fatalities in the workplace. Using three different datasets, this article empirically shows that, while job safety has improved for immigrant workers, more gains are required to reduce immigrant fatality rates to align with those of native workers. In reaching this result, we make several contributions to the literature. First, we use recent data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) to show that immigrants, particularly those from Mexico, experienced higher fatality rates than native-born workers in 2003, 2007, and 2015. Second, we empirically demonstrate that a large group of recent immigrants to the United States reported in the New Immigrant Survey either remain in high-risk jobs or increase their fatality risks over time. In doing so, this study is the first to exploit the longitudinal nature of the New Immigrant Survey to assess whether immigrant workers progressed into safer jobs between 2003 and 2007. Finally, we provide updated estimates of the Value of Statistical Life for immigrant workers using recent fatality data from the 2015 CFOI. Here, we show that unlike native-born workers, immigrant workers—especially those from Mexico—are not only in higher risk jobs but are also not compensated with hazard pay for workplace fatality risks. In conjunction, these results show that, while OSHA’s outreach programs toward immigrants have served a constructive function, more can be done to communicate job risks to immigrant workers to help them progress into safer jobs. In particular, since immigrant workers who lack English proficiency suffer most in the labor market, we recommend that OSHA target its outreach programs toward providing safety materials in an immigrant worker’s native language to alert workers to the hazards that are present and to promote safety training that immigrant workers can understand. Additionally, we also suggest that OSHA conduct a benefit-cost analysis to assess alternative regulatory policies that mandate employers to provide safety and training materials into other languages, such as Spanish.

Heat-related deaths among construction workers in the United States.

Heat is a severe hazard for construction workers and may be worsening with global warming. This study sought to explore heat-related deaths among U.S. construction workers and a possible association with climate change. Heat-related deaths in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries from 1992 to 2016 were analyzed. Denominators estimated from the Current Population Survey were matched with demographic and occupational categories in rate calculations. Statistical tests were used to examine heat-related deaths in relation to time, geographic region, and temperature. Construction workers, comprising 6% of the total workforce, accounted for 36% (n = 285) of all occupational heat-related deaths from 1992 to 2016 in the U.S. Mean temperatures from June to August increased gradually over the study period. Increasing summer temperatures from 1997 to 2016 were associated with higher heat-related death rates (r = 0.649; 95% confidence interval: 0.290, 0.848). Compared to all construction workers (risk index = 1), statistically significant elevated risk of heat-related death was found among Hispanics (1.21), in particular workers born in Mexico (1.91). Occupations with a high risk index included cement masons (10.80), roofers (6.93), helpers (6.87), brick masons (3.33), construction laborers (1.93) and heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics (1.60). U.S. construction workers are at a high risk of heat-related death, and this risk has increased with climate change over time. Effective workplace interventions, enhanced surveillance, and improved regulations and enforcement should accompany broader efforts to combat global warming. The construction industry can help reduce global warming through increased implementation of green building principles.

Asymmetric Effects on Fatality Rates of Changes in Workers’ Compensation Laws

Abstract With irreversible investments in safety, changes in workers’ compensation laws should affect employer incentives asymmetrically: increases in workers’ compensation generosity should cause employers to invest more in safety, but comparable decreases might not cause them to disinvest in existing precautionary programs or equipment. Although maximum weekly benefits caps have been fairly stable, state laws have expanded or restricted workers’ compensation on multiple other dimensions. State laws may impose new requirements regarding burdens of proof, access to medical care, and the duration of benefits. This article estimates the effect of changes in these more comprehensive measures of workers’ compensation laws on workplace safety. Using confidential, restricted data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, the article finds that increases in workers’ compensation generosity lead to a significant decrease in fatality rates, while decreases in workers’ compensation generosity do not significantly increase fatality rates.

Comparison of agricultural injuries reported in the media and census of fatal occupational injuries

ABSTRACTThe Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes annual statistics on occupational injuries and fatalities in the United States. The BLS fatality data include all agricultural workers while the non-fatal injury data only cover hired employees on large farms. In 2012, the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH) began collecting regional media monitoring data of agricultural injury incidents to augment national statistics. The aims of this report were: a) to compare CS-CASH injury and fatality data collected via print and online sources to data reported in previous studies, and b) to compare fatality data from media monitoring to BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) data. CS-CASH media monitoring data were collected from a news clipping service and an internet detection and notification system. These data covered years 2012–2017 in seven Midwestern states (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota). CS-CASH occupational fatality data were compared with aggregate CFOI data for the region during 2012–2015. Media monitoring captured 1048 injury cases; 586 (56%) were non-fatal and 462 (44%) were fatal. The numbers of occupational fatality cases from media monitoring and CFOI were nearly identical (280 vs. 282, respectively), and the distributions by type of injury were similar. Findings suggest that media monitoring can capture equal numbers of fatalities compared to CFOI. Non-fatal injuries, not captured by national surveillance systems, can be collected and tracked using print and electronic media. Risk factors, identified in media sources, such as gender, age, time, and source of the incident are consistent with previously reported data. Media monitoring can provide timely access to detailed information on individual cases, which is important for detecting unique and emerging hazards, designing interventions and for setting policy and guiding national strategies.

Workplace homicides committed by firearm: recent trends and narrative text analysis

BackgroundFirearm workplace homicides are a significant problem in the United States. We sought to provide a current, national-level examination of these crimes and examine how perpetrators accessed firearms used in workplace homicides.MethodsWe abstracted information on all firearm workplace homicides from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries from 2011 to 2015. We classified deaths by perpetrator’s relationship to the workplace/victim, motive (robbery v. non-robbery), circumstance (argument v. other circumstances), and firearm access points using narrative text fields.ResultsThere were 1553 firearm workplace homicides during the study period. Robbery crime trended downward from 2011 to 2015. In contrast, non-robbery crimes constituted almost 50% of the homicides and trended upward in recent years. Customers and co-workers were the most frequent perpetrators of non-robbery crimes, most after an argument. While customers and co-workers who commit these crimes were often armed at the time of the argument, some were not and retrieved a firearm from an unspecified location before committing a homicide. Thus, immediate and ready firearm access was commonly observed in argumentative workplace deaths.ConclusionsLimiting firearm access in the workplace is a possible measure for preventing deadly workplace violence and should be considered as part of a comprehensive strategy for addressing this reemerging public health concern.

Collecting union status for the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: a Massachusetts case study

Collecting union status for the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: a Massachusetts case study

Emergency medical service personnel injury and fatality in the United States

Introduction: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel comprise an intricate part of the public safety net in the US. The purpose of this study was to synthesize data sources to understand the major workplace dangers facing EMS providers. Methods: This study examined four data sources: The BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), Firefighter Fatalities and Statistics from USFA, and the EMS Voluntary Event Notification Tool (E.V.E.N.T.). Characteristics of the most common causes of injury and fatalities were described and compared. Results: SOII reports covered 13 years and 64,780 nonfatal reported cases. COFI covered 12 years and 149 fatalities. 111 fatalities from the USFA dataset who had been identified as EMS in some manner in their rank between 2003-2016 were inspected. 21 cases where a firefighter died in the course of providing EMS/patient care were also identified and discussed. All events submitted to E.V.E.N.T. were read and categorized. 214 events were identified as near-miss EMS provider injuries and included in the study. Conclusions: The biggest mortal threat to private EMS personnel is vehicular incidents. Among firefighters/EMTs Heart Attacks was the most common nature of death. The biggest nonfatal concerns are violence, slips, trips, and falls, and overexertion in addition to vehicular incidents. Most violent events were the result of a patient with a Temporarily Altered Mental Status. There is clearly a need for further research to develop evidence-based methods and policies to reduce injury and death in EMS personnel from an agency level.

Fatal work-related falls in the United States, 2003-2014.

Falls are the second leading cause of work-related fatalities among US workers. We describe fatal work-related falls from 2003 to 2014, including demographic, work, and injury event characteristics, and changes in rates over time. We identified fatal falls from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and estimated rates using the BLS Current Population Survey. From 2003 to 2014, there were 8880 fatal work-related falls, at an annual rate of 5.5 per million FTE. Rates increased with age. Occupations with the highest rates included construction/extraction (42.2 per million FTE) and installation/maintenance/repair (12.5 per million FTE). Falls to a lower level represented the majority (n = 7521, 85%) compared to falls on the same level (n = 1128, 13%). Falls are a persistent source of work-related fatalities. Fall prevention should continue to focus on regulation adherence, Prevention through Design, improving fall protection, training, fostering partnerships, and increasing communication.

Asymmetric Effects on Fatality Rates of Changes in Workers’ Compensation Laws

With irreversible capital investments, changes in workers’ compensation laws should affect employer incentives asymmetrically: increases in workers’ compensation generosity should cause employers to invest more in safety, but comparable decreases might not cause them to disinvest in existing precautionary programs or equipment. Although maximum weekly benefits caps have been fairly stable, state laws have expanded or restricted workers’ compensation on multiple other dimensions. State laws may impose new requirements regarding burdens of proof, access to medical care, and the duration of benefits. This article estimates the effect of changes in these more comprehensive measures of workers’ compensation laws on workplace safety. Using confidential, restricted data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), the article finds that increases in workers’ compensation generosity lead to a significant decrease in fatality rates, while decreases in workers’ compensation generosity do not significantly increase fatality rates.

Morbidity and mortality from farm tractor-related injuries in Arkansas.

This study applied a text string search algorithm to ascertain suspect farm tractor or agricultural machinery-related injuries in data sources available for 2000-2014 in the state of Arkansas. The occurrences of tractor or other agricultural machinery-related injuries were compared with data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). For death certificates that assigned an external cause of death, the authors first collected all those that were coded as related to agricultural machinery, based on search strings for occupation and industry and a description of how the injury occurred. They then inspected each case individually and removed those that were likely unrelated to agricultural machinery. This approach significantly increased (by 7.8 times) the number of suspect agricultural machinery-related fatalities compared to the number reported to CFOI, but there was only a 17% (not statistically significant) increase compared to NCHS. All hospital records with any discharge diagnosis coded as related to agricultural machinery were selected. Descriptive analysis of the fatalities and hospital records showed a significantly increased risk among men above retirement age, peaks during the summer, and an increased risk in the Mississippi delta region. About one-third of the agricultural machinery-related fatalities were due to overturns. The use of the algorithm can improve ascertainment of fatal agricultural machinery-related injuries in Arkansas. The death records were found to be rich in data on the circumstances of the injuries, which can be used to screen for tractor-related fatalities and, if confirmed, translated into action to improve the safety of Arkansas farmers.