"The burden that fatal occupational injury imposes upon society is severe and multidimensional. In addition to the human costs associated with the loss of a family member, an employee, and a coworker, there are costs that are economic in nature. No single metric can capture all the dimensions of loss, either personal or economic; it is extraordinarily difficult to measure the contribution of a family member or that of an active member of a community or group. To understand the dimensions of loss more fully, it is necessary to measure the aspects of fatal occupational injury that can be captured. Demographic data on fatal workplace injury was captured in the National Traumatic Occupational Fatality Surveillance system, maintained by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
"The current document is an attempt to build upon the surveillance data by adding an economic component; the data in this monograph provide a measure of the economic loss to society from the premature deaths of workers in various economic sectors, by states, to society as a whole, over time, by cause of death, and by demographic characteristics. The findings are compelling: over the period studied, 1992–2001, the estimated costs from these premature deaths exceeded $43 billion. "
