Hispanics dying on job at higher rates than others - USATODAY.com: ATLANTA — Hispanic workers die at higher rates than other laborers, with 1 in 3 of these deaths occurring in the construction industry, a government study reported Thursday. South Carolina had the highest death rate in the nation.
Hispanics tend to hold more high-risk jobs than those in other racial groups, but language and literacy barriers and poor training and supervision may also be factors, researchers said. The leading causes of death in recent years have been falls and highway-related accidents.
'Many of the Hispanic workers in construction are undocumented, and many of those who are recently arrived do face a language barrier,' said Rakesh Kochhar, associated director for research at the Pew Hispanic Center.
'A language barrier hinders understanding of a job, or the risks associated with it, or safety precautions,' said Kochhar, who was not part of the new study.
The study was done by health researchers in Massachusetts, Michigan and New Jersey and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's being published this week in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
