Study of ’91 Job Deaths Finds 20% Were Homicides
One in five workplace deaths in California in 1991 was a homicide, according to a San Francisco Examiner computer analysis of death records.
Homicide was the leading killer of women in California workplaces and the second most common cause of death for men, the paper found, adding that taxi drivers have the highest rate of work-related homicide, higher than police officers.
The most dangerous period is from 10 p.m. to 12:59 a.m., when 20% of the killings occur, the report said. Firearms accounted for 75% of the killings, but women were more likely to die from close contact injuries such as strangulation or knifing.
State Department of Health Services records examined by the newspaper showed that 154 employees, customers and visitors were slain at work sites in the state in 1991. That is 20% of the 763 workplace deaths found in 217,400 death records surveyed.
Only non-traffic accidents took more lives, the records show. Fewer people died in traffic accidents, from suicides or by disease.
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