This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Workplace fatalities in Utah were down last year, mirroring a drop nationally.
Preliminary numbers indicated Utah saw 39 work-related fatalities in 2011, compared with 41 deaths in 2010, a 5 percent decline, according to the Utah Labor Commission.
Nationally, there were 4,609 work-related fatalities, down slightly from 4,690 in 2010.
Transportation-related accidents remained the most frequent cause of work-related deaths and accounted for 24, or 62 percent, of the fatalities in Utah.
The state Labor Commission also reported that three fatalities, or 8 percent of the total, were the result of assaults and violent acts. Falls accounted for five fatalities, or 13 percent, while contacts with objects and equipment also accounted for five fatalities.
Of the 39 workers fatally injured in 2011, 37 were men, 35 were white (non-Hispanic) and nine were self employed.
The Labor Commission also noted that the age categories with the highest number of workplace fatalities included 25 to 34 years old, with 10 deaths, or 26 percent, followed by 35 to 44 years old, with nine deaths, or 23 percent.