Workers’ compensation being cut for dangerous jobs

To the Editor:
A data visualization compiled with data from 2014 reveals that a majority of states where a transportation driver was the most common job cut workers compensation benefits in the corresponding year. Personal injury law firm KBG Injury Law has compiled this data that points to a clear trend in several states moving away from providing much-needed benefits for their workers and their families during 2014.
In 2014, there were 4,804 work-related deaths. The states where a transportation driver was the most common job accounted for 3,356 deaths, almost 70 percent of all work-related deaths. In the same year, 18 states cut workers’ compensation for these benefits. Texas, California, New York and Florida were the states with the highest number of work-related deaths, respectively, that also made workers’ compensation benefit cuts to all employees. Other states like Pennsylvania and Illinois kept their workers’ compensation benefits rates the same. At the other end of workers’ compensation benefits were states like Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware, New Hampshire and Maine, all of which raised workers’ compensation benefits in 2014.
While a transportation driver was the most common job in many states in 2014, they weren’t the only occupation negatively affected by workers’ compensation cuts. States where primary school teachers, nursing staff, and farm managers were the most common job also cut workers’ compensation benefits.
Primary school teachers: 3 states cut benefits
Nursing staff: 1 state cut benefits
Farm managers: 1 state cut benefits
A job-related death has a devastating impact on a family. Without the proper benefits, these families might never financially recover. By releasing this data, KBG Injury Law hopes to shed light on how hard it is for families to move forward without the appropriate workers’ compensation benefits.
KGB Injury Law
Lancaster