North Dakota’s workers comp agency is offering training to companies that are taking part in the stating surging Oil Patch, this is an effort to decrease job related injuries and deaths who statically are happening most to employees with less than a year of experience on the job. According to North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance data 29 workers were killed on the job in the last fiscal year. Thirteen of those deaths occurred in oil patch related jobs. Half of the claims filed from injured workers in all occupations statewide were from employees who had been on the job less than one year from 2007-2011. In oil-related positions, the number of injured workers filing claims and who have less than a year on the job is about 80 percent, according to WSI data.
North Dakota’s robust economy lead by its booming energy sector has spurred an increase in the number of employers, workers and claims, said Bryan Klipfel, director of Workforce Safety and Insurance. With the boom in industry work related injuires will also raise unless something can be done like the workforce training that is being offered. Work-related deaths in all occupations have risen from nine in 2010 and fourteen in 2011, data show. Klipfel said the state’s employers — including the oil industry — typically do a good job keeping employees safe “but I think there always is room for improvement.” The number of employees covered by the state’s worker’s compensation agency has risen from about 340,000 in fiscal 2010 to nearly 370,000 in the last fiscal year, data show. The number of employers during that time jumped from 20,316 to 23,812. Job-related traffic deaths accounted for 46 of the 102-workplace fatalities from 2006 to 2012, said Klipfel, the former state Highway Patrol commander. Deaths in oil-related occupations totaled 26 during that time, he said.
This is a great preemptive measure that the state of North Dakota is taking in helping keep its work force safe. If you are ever injured at work or know any one that has please contact The Personal Injury Lawyers of Utah.
