You may deal with hazardous materials, chemical spills, temperamental machinery, faulty wiring, and unsteady or slippery walkways and footholds in your line of work. Is your job dangerous? Of course. Every employee, from an office worker to a roofer, face a degree of risk. The differentiator lies in the level of risk that employee faces each time they show up to perform the duties.
An office worker faces carpal tunnel issues and a slip-and-fall accident. In contrast, roofers may face overexertion, a slippery or unstable roof, heat exhaustion, and other injuries caused by faulty tools or work methods.
24/7 Wall Street studied fatal and non-fatal injury rates among the 71 most fatal American jobs and found 25 positions that were identifiably more dangerous than the rest. They based the rankings on how many fatalities occurred per 100,000 employees.
Overall, the study discovered that in 2018, 5,250 employees lost their lives after sustaining a work injury.
The rankings
Loggers log long and dangerous hours for median pay ($40,650/year). Logging secured the top spot as the most dangerous profession in the United States as 56 loggers lost their lives in 2018. When you compare to the total number of loggers in the country and this study’s measurement of fatalities per 100,000 workers, 56 is quite high.
Second place went to fishermen and related occupations. Fisherman often work far away from quick medical service. If they sustain a life-threatening injury, the chances of survival are lower than most jobs.
Landing in third place was aircraft pilots and flight engineers/copilots. As one might suspect, it is very rare for a pilot to survive a plane crash. Unlike many positions on this list, pilots get compensated for the danger they face, as the median annual income hovers around $115,000.
Here is the entire list of America’s most dangerous jobs:
- Logging
- Fisherman
- Aircraft pilots and flight engineers/copilots
- Roofers
- Garbage and recycling collectors
- traveling salesman, delivery drivers and truck drivers
- Agricultural workers (farmers, ranchers)
- Iron and steelworkers
- Construction and extraction first-line supervisors
- Landspace and groundskeeping first-line supervisors
- Linemen (power line installment and repair)
- Ground maintenance workers
- Miscellaneous agricultural employees
- Construction workers
- Mechanic and repair first-line supervisors
- Law enforcement officers
- Construction laborers
- General maintenance and repair employees
- Miners operating machinery
- Construction and operating engineers
- Diesel engine repairmen
- Electricians
- HVAC mechanics and installers
- Sports-related positions (athletes, coaches, referees, etc.)
- commercial truck and tractor driver
If you get injured on the job because of company negligence, you deserve to be reimbursed for your medical bills and lost wages. Filing a workers’ compensation claim with a trusted attorney by your side is a step in the right direction.
