With COVID taking hold of the world in 2020, workers ended up working fewer hours directly due to the pandemic. Statistics show that there was a 9% decrease in the number of hours worked overall. Work-related fatalities decreased likely to fewer hours worked. There appeared to be a corresponding drop in work-related deaths.
Preventable work deaths totaled approximately 4,113, evidencing a 10% decrease from 2019. Before 2020, the number of work-related deaths had not decreased since 2013. In 2020, there was also a 5% drop in preventable work deaths. However, four million workers still ended up requiring medical attention due to work-related injuries.
It should not be surprising that the number of work-related deaths decreased during the pandemic. Unfortunately, the decrease cannot be attributed to companies being safer. If anything, keeping workers from work during the pandemic saved the lives of over 400 workers from dangerous jobs or working conditions. Unless companies have used the time lost during the pandemic to improve safety, there is a real fear that the death toll of workers in America is estimated to rise in the post-COVID era.
Attorneys at Abraham Watkins are experts in helping people who have been injured or killed in work-related accidents. If you or someone you know has been injured or killed due to a work-related accident, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner today at 713-222-7211 or toll-free at 1-800-594-4884 to see if you or your family have a claim.