Virtually every type of profession available in California brings with it some degree of risk, but statistics show that your risk of suffering a serious work-related injury or fatality climbs considerably if you work within one of several specific fields. Just how high your level of work-related danger is depends not only on your profession, but also on the steps you and your employer take to enhance safety. However, there are still certain professions that expose you to considerably more workplace dangers than others.
For example, Time magazine notes that you face the nation’s most significant risk of workplace danger if you make your living as a logger. According to 2014 statistics, for every 100,000 loggers in the profession, about 111 lose their lives every year. Why? Working from heights, working in rural areas where medical care is hard to come by and working around falling branches and related hazards are just a few of the reasons loggers face such a high risk of workplace danger.
After loggers, fishers and others in the fishing industry face the nation’s highest level of work-related danger, with 80 workers in the industry dying each year for every 100,000 employed. Also included in the top five most dangerous jobs in America were those held by pilots, roofers and recyclable material collectors, all of whom face their own work-specific hazards. Job-related risks faced by police officers are also increasing, with police officers now holding the 15th most-dangerous job in America, climbing two spots from the year prior.
While this information about America’s most dangerous jobs is informative, it is not a replacement for legal advice.
