OSHA: Workplace Deaths Are on the Rise; Workplace Homicide Now the Second Leading Cause

​There were 5,190 workplace fatalities in 2016, a 7% increase from 2015, according to a December 19, 2017, release from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). For the third consecutive year, OSHA said, the number of on-the-job deaths increased, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the number topped 5,000 for the first time since 2008. The rate of fatal injuries also increased from 3.4 to 3.6 per 100,000 full-time workers from 2015 to 2016, the BLS said. Deaths related to workplace violence and other injuries by persons or animals increased by 23% in 2016, making such deaths the second most common cause of workplace fatality (after transportation incidents, which accounted for two of every five workplace deaths). Workplace violence was the fourth most common cause of workplace death in 2015 (behind transportation; falls, slips, and trips; and contact with an object). Further data analysis revealed 500 workplace homicides in 2016 (an increase of 83 cases from 2015) and 291 workplace suicides (an increase of 62 from 2015).