Louisiana workplace deaths jumped 21% in 2019

Louisiana had 119 fatal workplace injuries in 2019, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, giving the state the sixth-highest fatal injury rate among states.

Louisiana's 119 fatal workplace accidents were the most the state had recorded since 2014, when it had 120. Fatal injuries were up 21.4% from 98 in 2018.

The state had 6.2 fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, ranking sixth behind Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, and West Virginia. Alaska had the highest rate with 14.1.

Louisiana's fatal workplace injury rate jumped 21.6% — 1.1 injuries per 100,000 FTE workers — from 2018's 5.1. In 2018, Louisiana had the 12th-most fatal workplace injuries. The state's increase in fatalities was sixth in the U.S. by overall increase and ninth by percentage.

In 2019, nearly half, 47.9%, of workplace fatalities in 2019 were transportation accidents, primarily meaning aircraft, train or vehicle incidents. Around 13.4% of the fatal injuries were from falls, and 16.8% were from exposure to harmful substances or environments, which could mean electricity, radiation, temperature extremes, or oxygen deprivation.

About 10.9% of the fatalities in 2019 were from contact with objects or equipment, which could mean being hit by a piece of equipment, being crushed or compressed by an object or equipment or being hit by a collapsing structure.

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In 2018, 41.8% of the fatal accidents were transportation related, while 13.3% were from falls. Another 18.4% of fatalities were from exposure to harmful substances or environments, and 13.3% were from contact with objects or equipment. In 2018, 12.2% of fatal injuries were from "violence and other injuries by persons or animals," meaning an intentional or unintentional injury caused by a person or an incident related to animals or insects, though these injuries did not account for any fatalities in 2019.

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting had the highest rate of deaths in 2019, with 42.1 deaths per 100,000 workers. Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction had 17.8 fatalities per 100,000, while construction had 11.6, manufacturing had 3.7, and wholesale and retail trade had 2.6. Professional and business services had eight fatal injuries per 100,000 workers.

The vast majority of the fatalities in 2019 were men, making up 89.9% of the total deaths. 

About half of the deaths in 2019 were white workers, while 30.3% were Black. About 10% were Hispanic workers, and about 5% were other races. In 2018, half the deaths were white workers, 35.7% were Black, 5.1% were Hispanic, and 4.1% were American Indian or Native Alaskan.

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Nearly half — 44.5% — of Louisiana's fatal workplace injuries in 2019 were from Production, transportation, and material moving occupations. In 2018, those industries made up 42.9% of fatal accidents.

A sizable number of fatal injuries were from the natural resources, construction, and maintenance industries, which accounted for 35.3% of the fatal injuries. Within that category, construction and extraction operations made up 22.7% of the state's total fatalities.

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance industries made up 28.6% of fatal injuries in 2018.

Four of the fatalities were federal government workers, and six worked for local governments in 2019. In 2018, the state had 10 local government fatalities.