By Jasmine Hall
Jackson Hole News&Guide
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

JACKSON — The number of occupational fatalities in Wyoming rose 32.4% between 2022 and 2023.

The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services reported Thursday that 45 people died in 2023, 11 more than in 2022. Seventeen of those deaths occurred in the natural resources and mining industry in Wyoming. Of those 17, nine deaths were reported in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting. Eight occurred in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction.

The second-highest industry accounting for occupational fatalities was transportation and warehousing, with 13 deaths. Construction accounted for the other three.

Across all industries, two-thirds of 2023 workplace deaths were the result of transportation incidents. Transportation incidents include highway crashes, pedestrian vehicular incidents, aircraft incidents and water vehicle incidents.

“Variations in fatalities from year to year are, to some extent, the result of the random nature of work-related accidents,” the Department of Workforce Services said in a press release. “Furthermore, there is not always a direct relationship between workplace fatalities and workplace safety. For example, suicides and homicides that occur in the workplace are included as occupational fatalities. Workplace fatalities are counted in the state where the injury occurred, not necessarily the state of residence or the state of death.”

The fatality counts were compiled by the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Program, a joint effort of Research and Planning and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and officials said it may not match those from other programs due to differences in scope and methodology.

While state workplace fatalities increased, preliminary data showed a national decrease, including from trench collapses and falls, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

In fiscal year 2024, federal OSHA investigated 826 worker deaths, an 11% drop from 928 in the previous year. Excluding COVID-related deaths, this is the lowest number of worker fatalities investigated by OSHA since fiscal year 2017. OSHA is crediting a focus on prevention and partnerships for the improvement.

Fatal falls investigated by federal OSHA dropped from 234 to 189, or almost 20%. Preliminary data from state OSHA programs — pending validation by federal OSHA — indicates a 15% reduction in fatalities in state jurisdictions.

Fatal falls have plagued Wyoming’s construction industry, including in Teton County. 

In March 2022, a 43-year-old man died while working on a roof in Wilson. A little over a month later, a 42-year-old died when he fell off the roof of Cody House in Teton Village. Both companies were cited for not having fall protection. One company paid less than $9,000. The other paid less than $13,000 and was cited for subpar training requirements.

Teton County has had three workers die in trench collapses since 2018. Last year, OSHA fined MD Nursery and Landscaping more than $28,000 after Lorenzo Fuentes Cortes, 51, of Victor, Idaho, died while working for the company at 3 Creek Ranch in October 2023. He was installing an irrigation line.

OSHA also is reporting a nearly 70% drop since calendar year 2022 in fatalities tied to trench collapses. Fatalities decreased nationwide from 39 in 2022 to 15 in 2023 and, to date, 12 in calendar year 2024. OSHA credited intensive outreach and education by OSHA and industry partners, work by state plans and aggressive enforcement, including immediate inspections and referrals for criminal prosecution “where warranted.”

A trench collapse also killed two workers in Jackson in September 2018. Juan Baez-Sanchez, 42, and Victoriano Garcia-Perez, 56, suffocated when a trench caved in on them. Wyoming OSHA fined Fireside Resort for five serious violations following an investigation into the men’s deaths.