Florida's Hispanic Workers Face High Fatality Rates
South Florida is proud of the major contributions made to its economic and cultural life made by the large Hispanic populations in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. I am proud to have represented many, many Hispanic workers at the law offices of Randy Zeldin. Recently, I represented a Latino gentleman from Mexico, who fell from a roof and sustained serious fractures and other injuries. In questioning this worker who spoke no English, it became apparent that he was untrained for the dangerous work he was asked to perform. Had the Employer made the effort, it is likely that his injuries could have been avoided.
I became curious about rates of injuries among Hispanic workers, who are often engaged in dangerous jobs. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the fatality rate for Hispanic employees was 5.0 per 100,000 workers, compared with 4.0 per 100,00 workers for the general population. Foreign born Hispanic workers have a much higher rate of death than even native-born Hispanic workers, based on data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
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