Business & Economy
Workplace deaths dip; most still preventable
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By JENNIFER CHEN
Capital News Service
LANSING – Slightly fewer workers died in the state last year than in 2010, according to the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Michigan State University. But most of them could have been prevented, said Kenneth Rosenman, director of the division. “Workplace deaths are almost always avoidable, and there is no reason we shouldn’t be seeing a decrease in deaths.”
In 2011, the construction industry had the most deaths, followed by agriculture. Overall, the number of workplace deaths stayed relatively stable in 2011, when 141 workers died on the job compared with 145 in 2010. Work-related fatal injuries occurred in 43 of the state’s 83 counties in 2010.