Massachusetts Workers Dying on the Job in ‘Alarming Rates’

The number of workers who died on the job in Massachusetts last year was down from the year before, but advocates say the rate is still "alarming."

The annual report from the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO lists 40 people who died from traumatic injuries while on the job in 2024 and eight firefighters who died from occupational-related disease.

The report suggests that at least an additional 21 workers died from suicide or fatal drug overdoses.

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State House News Service reports, "In 2023, Massachusetts saw 62 workplace fatalities, in addition to 43 workplace suicides and fatal overdoses."

MassCOSH and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO are urging state lawmakers to adopt regulations to hold employers more accountable for employee safety. The report suggests that the Trump Administration is backtracking on its commitments to worker safety, leading to dangerous worker conditions.

Among the 48 workers who died in 2024 and 2025 were 45-year-old New Bedford firefighter Matthew Forand, 26-year-old construction laborer Cristian Diaz Mejia of New Bedford, 36-year-old sales worker Luis Sanchez Bencosme of Seekonk, 67-year-old mover Jean Revil of Fall River, 60-year-old tree worker Michael Sarnie of Taunton, 39-year-old equipment operator Richard Mattson of Taunton, and 23-year-old Fall River construction worker Rafael Cardoso Martins.

The MassCOSH and Massachusetts AFL-CIO report said the latest work-related deaths and injuries demonstrate that "egregious practices and preventable deaths are still occurring."

"We must continue to push for adequate safety measures and consequences for employers that fail to comply so that all workers can return home safely to their families," the report stated.

According to the report, the most work-related fatalities occurred in the construction and excavation industries. Falls, slips and trips were the leading causes of worker deaths.