Massachusetts workplace deaths down, but still an issue in 2019
At least 47 workers died on the job in Massachusetts in 2019, according to an occupational safety group that said the death of two construction workers in a two-hour span this past weekend is a reminder of how dangerous that industry can be.
A 25-year-old man working for a commercial roofing company died on Saturday morning after falling from a 25-foot barn in Shirley, according to the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health. Brandon McSweeney, a Sherborn resident working to set up for Boston's New Year's Eve event, died later that morning on Dec. 28 when a ballast that was not properly secured to a forklift fell on him, the coalition said.
"Too many men and women go to work, never to come home because many still view fatal hazards as an unavoidable part of working," MassCOSH executive director Jodi Sugerman-Brozan said in a statement. "We expect that these two employers who bear the full responsibility for keeping their employees safe on the job will cooperate with all investigations and not seek to contest OSHA findings and fines surrounding the loss of these men."
The coalition said the number of worker deaths for the year could ultimately come in higher if state public health officials confirm additional work-related fatalities. In 2018, MassCOSH reported 69 job-related deaths.
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