Electrical Safety Stats & Facts

Younger workers are most likely to experience electrical injuries.
Electrocutions accounted for all but one of the workplace electrical fatalities.
The risk of shock or electrocution is greatest around metal objects and in damp conditions.
Only qualified electricians should repair electrical equipment or work an energized line.
Contact with overhead power supply lines is a frequent electrical-related killer.

Fatal Electrical Injuries

There were 136 electrical fatalities in 2017. An 11.6% drop from 2016, returning to 2015 levels.
Contact with / Exposure to electric current accounted for 2.6% of all workplace fatalities. In 2016, they accounted for 2.9%, in 2015 2.7% and 3.1% in 2014.
Contact with / Exposure to electric current maintained its position as sixth most common type of workplace fatality.
54% of all fatal electrical injuries occurred in the construction industry compared to 53% in 2016. The second leading industry in electrical fatalities in professional and business services with 20 fatalities (15%).
The utility industry had the highest rate of fatal electrical injuries (0.74 / 100,000) followed by construction (0.70/ 100,000)
Electrical fatalities account for 5.7% of all electrical injuries.
Workers 16 to 17 years of age experienced electrical fatalities at 5.4 times the average for all age groups;
18 to 19 age group – 2.4 times;
20 – 24 age group – 1.8 times;
25 – 34 age group – 1.5 times;
35 – 44 age group – 1.1 times;