Research: Work-related fatalities 10-13 times higher than official stats

Labour/le Travail recently published an article entitled “Work-related death in Canada”. This article examines official work-related fatality statistics (from workers’ compensation board stats; WCBs accept about 950 fatality claims per year) and then tries to fill in the gaps to get a more accurate estimate. It is premised on the notion that WCB rules socially construct what we consider a work-related fatality in ways that under-represent the true death toll of work.

The article eventually comes to an estimate of between 9878 and 13,246—so 10 to 13 times the official number. The numbers break out like this (and keep in mind that, although these numbers look precise, they are estimates):

• WCB accepted injury fatalities: 332
• Commuting: 466
• Agricultural: 64
• Non-reported/reporting error: 20
• Non-working victim: 90
• Work-related suicide: 400-780
• Mesothelioma: 485
• Other cancers: 5959-8939
• COPD: 2062
• Total Estimate: 9878-13,246

Of note is that fatalities due to injuries are a small fraction (972) of the total fatality load. This research is broadly consistent with research in the UK and the US.

These estimates suggest that the way governments construct fatality data significantly downplays the true level of work-related death and masks that injury-prevention efforts in Canada are ineffective.

-- Bob Barnetson