What Are the Missouri Industries with High Worker Injury Rates?

Everything you do comes with a certain amount of risk. You could get into a crash any time that you go for a car ride. You could choke on your breakfast or receive a contaminated prescription drug from your pharmacist.

Risks are everywhere, and you can’t live your life expecting danger around every corner or avoiding anything that could potentially injure you. Instead, you can make strategic decisions to limit your personal risk.

Choosing not to drive right after the bars closed for the night could be a form of harm reduction. So could learning about the risks you have at work so that you can protect yourself. What are the most dangerous industries in Missouri for worker injuries and fatalities?

Missouri’s Dangerous Industries Align with Federal Statistics

The most dangerous industries in Missouri are also among the most dangerous industries in the United States. Workers who drive for a living or who work in close proximity to heavy machinery, like agricultural or factory workers, have much higher level of risk than those who work primarily sedentary jobs.

Of all industries, transportation or material moving is the field with the highest risk of injury on the job. 2019 Missouri workplace data indicates that 0.7 transportation workers per every 100 full-time workers suffered a lost-time injury on the job. Production was the second riskiest industry for injuries, but the reported injury rate was less than half that in transportation.

As for workplace fatalities, trade, transportation and utilities topped the list of dangerous industries. Fishing and hunting, forestry and agriculture also had higher rates of worker fatalities.

You Don’t Have to Quit a Job You Love Just Because of The Injury Risk

Realizing that you have long pursued one of the most dangerous professions in the state or the country may make you worry about the future. Still, knowledge is powerful and can reduce your risk.

Identifying the specific risk factors for injury and death in your industry could help you avoid dangers on the job and demand the right training and safety equipment from your employer. Knowing your rights, including the right to file a workers’ compensation claim, can help you if you do end up suffering an injury because of your profession.