Fatal occupational injury rates: Quebec, 1981 through 1988.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the study was to estimate the death rates from occupational injuries in the province of Quebec for the period 1981 through 1988.

METHODS

Worker's compensation files were used to ascertain numbers of deaths, which were used as the numerators in figuring the rates (it was estimated that these files reported 83% of the true number of deaths among men). Annual average estimates of the labor force were used as denominators.

RESULTS

From 1981 through 1988, compensation was awarded for 1227 fatal work injuries. Among men (96% of the victims), rates declined from 1981 to 1988 (from 12.7 to 8.1 per 100,000); women's rates were stable (< or = 1.0 per 100,000). Compared with men, women had excess mortality from violent acts. Motor vehicle crashes accounted for 36% of all fatal injuries in 1984 and 1985 and declined thereafter. Fatal injury rates in forestry and mining rose to a 1987 maximum of 67.6 per 100,000. The construction sector had the largest number of deaths, despite a decline in rates from 1981 to 1988 (from 27.8 to 15.9 per 100,000).

CONCLUSIONS

Except for construction and agriculture, reported fatal occupational injury rates in Quebec were similar to those in the United States. Motor vehicle crashes, falls, violent acts, and farming-related injuries were the most frequent causes of death.