California’s 376 Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2017 Equals Previous Year, Report Shows

The California Department of Industrial Relations issued a report last month showing that 376 Californians died on the job in 2017, the same as in 2016.

California’s workplace fatality rate remains stable with slight fluctuations over the past eight years, while on a national level the rate of fatalities fell from 3.6 to 3.5 per 100,000 workers, according to the DIR.

There were were 388 fatal on-the-job injuries in 2015, 344 in 2014, and 396 in 2013, the DIR report shows.

The DIR data comes from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, which is conducted annually in conjunction with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Figures for 2017 are the latest numbers available.

Key findings from the latest census in California include:

• 22 percent of California workplace deaths identified in 2017 were attributed to trips, slips and falls; with 88 percent of those deaths involving falls to a lower level.
• Assaults and violent acts in the workplace accounted for one-of-five workplace deaths in the state in 2017.
• 37 percent of California workplace deaths identified in 2017 occurred in transportation-related incidents.