The most dangerous jobs in the United States cost thousands of people their lives each year. These professions offer high pay, but come with high risk. Is your job on this list? The following are some of the most dangerous jobs in America.
1. Logging
Loggers work in forests, cutting lumber for a variety of uses from wood for paper, cardboard, and industrial uses. They spend almost all or most of their time in isolated areas, where they are far from hospitals or other places to seek treatment for injuries. Because they use heavy equipment for the job, most of their injuries occur as a result of contact with logging machines.
2. Fishers and Fishing Machine Workers
Fishers often face hazardous conditions in their attempt to catch fish that is sold in supermarkets and restaurants. Most of their injuries and deaths occur from falls from the boat or collisions with other watercraft. Fishers get hurt at a rate of 77 out of every 100,000, one of the highest injury rates in the country.
3. Airline Pilots and First Officers
Airline pilots and first officers work in commercial airlines, transporting passengers and cargo to their final destinations. This job includes hazards like flying through inclement weather, under stressful conditions, and at all times of the day and night. Most of the fatalities in this job are due to aircraft accidents and crashes. Although plane crashes are extremely rare, there is a high likelihood of death for pilots in airline crashes.
4. Roofers
Roofers earn their living installing roofs on residential homes and commercial buildings. The job is physical, requiring heavy lifting, bending, and stooping. Most roofers sustain injuries in falls. Because they work at such high heights, these falls are, more often than not, fatal. Roofers also work year round in hazardous weather, adding to the likelihood of injury or death.
5. Construction Workers
Construction workers build and repair buildings, and this means that much of their work will be done using heavy machinery, from heights, or in areas where there are significant hazards. Construction workers often suffer from falls from buildings and scaffolding and ladders. They may be hit with falling debris or become injured by cranes and other heavy machines. Although construction workers take steps to avoid injury, there is still a high risk of becoming hurt or killed on the job.
6. Derrick Operators
In the oil, gas and mining industry, derrick operators are responsible for setting up the equipment to extract these natural resources from the ground. Constructing and maintaining the derrick is often a tricky endeavor, and many injuries occur as a result. Derrick operators work year round with heavy machinery, often in bad weather, adding to the risk of injury or death.
7. Delivery Drivers
Trucking delivery drivers work year round, delivering freight and goods from one location to another. Trucking is a dangerous profession due to the road hazards they face as they traverse the roadways daily. Truckers often face long drives on congested roads in snow, ice and rain. Traffic accidents account for the majority of the fatal and non-fatal injuries that truck drivers face while on the job.
8. Sanitation Workers
Trash collectors are vital to the community’s sense of order and health, but they face hazardous conditions and often get hurt on the job. Many of their non-fatal injuries are the result of lifting heavy items and using their physical strength to get them onto the truck. They also suffer from fatal injuries when they are hit by cars or run over by the trucks themselves. In some cases, sanitation workers have fallen into their trucks and been hurt or killed by the machinery.
Is your job on this list of the most dangerous jobs? If you have been hurt at work, here is an infographic with information on what to do if you’ve been hurt on a construction site. It just might save your life.
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