It is shocking to think of the number of people who are injured or killed each year working in Colorado and across the nation. While there are state and federal protections in place to prevent these kinds of injuries and deaths, there are still many workers in Colorado who must file for workers’ compensation following a serious on-the-job accident. And, according to the president of the Teamsters Union, the number of workplace injuries is “enormous.”
The food industry is one place that many in Colorado may not have thought of as being particularly dangerous, but it is estimated that one farm worker dies every day at work. It is not just farm workers, however; there are truck drivers, employees at food manufacturing plants and warehouse workers who are injured or killed, too. For the families of the men and women killed in the food industry, they will likely need to apply for Colorado’s dependency and death benefits.
For the farm workers, there are considerable dangers, including heat and the risk of falls. Moreover, individuals can become trapped in grain silos or electrocuted by irrigation systems. These are just a few of the many different ways in which a farm worker can become seriously injured or killed on the job.
While the number of fatal workplace accidents has fallen since the federal Occupational Heath and Safety Administration was founded in 1970, there is still room for improvement. With approximately 4,000 people dying in workplace accidents each year, there is always a way to improve safety.
Source: People’s World, “Report: Food on American tables costs a life a day,” Mark Gruenberg, April 25, 2013
