California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program 1992-2003: A Closer Look at Hispanic Fatalities in Los Angeles County

The California Department of Health Services, in collaboration with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, has established the California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program for the surveillance and investigation of workplace fatalities. The objective of the FACE program is to prevent fatal workplace injuries by identifying high-risk work processes, developing prevention strategies, and informing those who can intervene in the workplace. Fatality investigations target occupational fatalities involving machinery, street/highway construction work zones, youth (under 18 years old), and Hispanic workers. This presentation will focus on Hispanic workers, with an emphasis on those who were foreign-born. The fatality rate for Hispanic workers was 50% greater than it was for non-Hispanic workers (3.8 compared to 2.6). Foreign-born individuals comprised 75% of all Hispanic fatalities in Los Angeles County. The leading cause of death among this population was homicide (34%), falls (15%), transportation (13%), and machine-related (10%). Most of these fatalities occurred in the Construction (19%), Service (19%), Retail (18%), and Transportation, Communication & Public Utilities (15%) sector. The FACE program has completed 173 in-depth fatality investigations since 1992, and approximately half of these involved Hispanic workers. At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to list the industries and occupations that had the most occupational fatalities for foreign-born Hispanic workers, describe the leading causes of death for these workers, and list 5 recommendations for prevention of future fatalities.