In 2020, nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by U.S. private industry employers dropped 5.7% compared with the year prior, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The decline was largely propelled by a reduction in injury cases, as reported illness cases more than quadrupled, according to law firm Schmidt & Clark, LLP, which reported a 4,000% increase in employer-reported respiratory illness cases during 2020. Nursing assistants had the highest number of cases involving days away from work (DAFW) during 2020, with a total of 96,470, Schmidt & Clark reported, noting this was a 248.7% increase from 2019. In 2020, 33.2% of all cases involving DAWF were categorized as "other diseases due to viruses not elsewhere classified," which includes reported COVID-related illnesses. In addition to a drop in nonfatal workplace injuries declining, workplace fatalities among private industry employers declined 10.7% with 4,764 recorded deaths. While the pandemic did influence the decline in workplace deaths, the Bureau of Labor did note cases of workplace fatalities have been continuously declining since 2013. The above slideshow highlights the industries that saw the most workplace deaths in 2020, as well as those with the highest rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers. Related: |

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Steve Hallo

Steve Hallo is managing editor of PropertyCasualty360.com. He can be reached at [email protected]

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