By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its preliminary “Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.”  The findings show an increase of twenty-three percent in the oil and gas extraction industries, a fourteen percent increase in the mining sector, and a five percent increase in the construction industry.

The BLS Report indicates that 767 workers were killed as a result of violence and other injuries by persons or animals, including 463 homicides and 225 suicides. The total number of fatal work injuries after being struck by objects or equipment increased by seven percent.

As noted above, the number of fatal work injuries in the construction sector increased five percent in 2012. BLS says in its news release that “construction accounted for the highest number of fatal work injuries of any industry sector in 2012.”

Fatal work injuries in the mining sector increased fourteen percent from 2011. The number of fatal work injury cases in oil and gas extraction industries rose in 2012 by twenty-three percent — which represents a series high. This may be attributed to the increasing numbers of employees working in fracking operations. Fatal work injuries in support activities for mining increased nine percent.

In response to the BLS Report, Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said in a press release that “[w]e can and must do better. Job gains in oil and gas and construction have come with more fatalities, and that is unacceptable…. Employers must take job hazards seriously and live up to their legal and moral obligation to send their workers home safe every single day. The Labor Department is committed to preventing these needless deaths, and we will continue to engage with employers to make sure that these fatality numbers go down further. “ Emphasis added.

Employers in these industries, oil and gas, construction, and mining, need to be mindful of OSHA’s and MSHA’s enhanced monitoring and inspection activities. Take steps to insure that your safety and health programs, policies, and training are up-to-date and are being rigorously implemented. Be sure to have a plan in-place for when an agency inspector does come calling, so that the company is protected and any citations and liabilities are minimized.