Reports Say Massachusetts Workplace Deaths Down Slightly

Labor organizations and a workplace safety advocacy group say 69 people died of work-related causes in Massachusetts last year, down slightly from 74 in 2017.

The 28-page report released Friday by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health says the deaths were from documented occupational injuries or disease sustained on the job.

Nine workers died as a result of workplace violence, a figure almost double the number of those who died from workplace violence in 2017.

Worker deaths in Massachusetts were concentrated in the construction industry, with 21 lives lost, or 36% of workers fatally injured on the job.

There were also 17 fatal transportation incidents, which include motor vehicle crashes and workers struck by vehicles or moving equipment.

Ten firefighters died from work-related disease.