Understanding The Most Dangerous Jobs In North Carolina

Dangerous jobs exist in every city and state. North Carolina is no exception, having their own dangerous occupations and resulting workplace injuries. Some jobs are pretty minor when it comes to dangerous situations, but may occasionally present precarious situations nonetheless. Other jobs are just downright threatening to human existence! So you can better prepare yourself and see to your own safety, we’re going to take a look at some of North Carolina’s most dangerous jobs.

The specific danger level of a job will, at least for today, be judged on the frequency of workplace injuries. First let’s take a look at some statistics involving North Carolina employees getting hurt on the job.

Injuries By The Numbers

For one year, in North Carolina alone, over 71,009 non-fatal workplace injuries were reported by private industry employers (according to 2016 reports by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics). Broken down, that means that per 100 full-time workers, about 2.5 cases occurred. The good news is that compared to the national average of 2.9, North Carolina was lower. Unfortunately, it means that there is a higher chance for some workplace injuries than for others, depending on factors like the particular occupation, among others.

Occupations Considered High Risk

So, we’ve seen some statistics, now let’s look at occupations. First off, what’s meant by the term “dangerous job”?

A dangerous job is simply one that poses a significant risk on a more frequent basis than do others. For example, an elephant trainer versus a mouse trainer. Unless it’s a rabid, hungry rat, the elephant trainer probably has a greater risk of getting hurt on the job.

What makes a specific occupation dangerous? The job itself? The worker? The conditions present in the workplace? The answer is: yes, yes, and yes. All of these things, and more, contribute to how hazardous an occupational situation might be

Those At The Highest Risk

One of the most notoriously dangerous occupations in existence is the construction industry. Both non-fatal and fatal injuries from which construction workers can suffer include the following:

• Falling objects
• Power tools
• Falls from ladders or scaffolding

Other high-risk occupations include the warehousing and transportation industry sector. Trucking (traffic) accidents were the most common cause of injury in both of those occupations.

Who Is Getting Injured And How?

Recent numbers show that in North Carolina, 5% of workplace fatalities were women, while 95% were men. For Latinos and those over 55, fatalities increased from late 2018 until mid 2019, nationwide. According to the North Carolina Department of Labor, those 2018-2019 occupational fatalities numbered 39. These breakdown as follows:

• One shock case
• One inhalation related fatality
• 10 falls
• Six people were caught in between something
• 13 were struck by something
• and others

Improper ladder use, a lack of personal protective equipment, and a lack of fall protection were the three most frequently cited North Carolina safety violations between 2016 and 2017.

Evaluating Hazardous Conditions

In order to execute an honest evaluation of just how hazardous a job is, several things should be factored into consideration. These are as follows:

• The particular demands on a mental and physical level presented by a particular job.
• The nonfatal injury potential.
• Along with safety precautions, analyze the number of fatal injuries and deaths.

Cardinal Law Partners can represent you if you were injured on the job. Whether negligence was a factor, or some other cause was present, if you or your loved one was hurt on the job, contact the legal representatives at Cardinal Law Partners. We are here for you.