Workplace injury dangers greater for older workers

Baby boomers keep breaking the rules. They are more likely to live longer and choose to work longer than previous generations. Unfortunately, there is a downside to continuing their careers, the Associated Press reports.

Older workers die at a higher rate than workers overall, the AP’s analysis of federal workplace injury data indicates. The disturbing fatality rate for older workers bucks a national trend of decreasing workplace fatalities.

The AP reports that by 2024, older workers will comprise about one quarter of the workforce.

As we age, our physical abilities change and diminish: eyesight and hearing worsen, reflexes and responses times slow and balance and agility recede. Plus, older people tend to have more chronic medical issues that can complicate injuries and treatments.

Two years ago, a little more than a third of all fatal workplace accidents involved workers age 55 and above. The AP analysis also shows that workplace fatality rates for all workers dropped by 22 percent from 2006 to 2015. During that same period, the fatal accident rate for older workers was as much as 65 percent higher than the rate for all workers.

The analysis of accidents between 2011 and 2015 indicates that fall-related deaths rose 20 percent; fatal transportation accidents went up 15 percent; and deaths by fire and explosions fell by 8 percent.

Hopefully, the numbers will motivate every Charlotte worker, regardless of age, to be more careful on the job.

If you have been injured and denied North Carolina workers’ compensation benefits, you can appeal with the help of a qualified Charlotte work injury attorney.