Coal Mine Accidents and Worker’s Compensation Insurance
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, coal mining employees have a higher risk of being killed or incurring a non-fatal injury or illness, and their injuries are more likely to be more severe than private industry workers as a whole. In 2007, the fatal injury rate in the coal mining industry was 24.8 per 100,000 full time equivalent workers, close to six times the rate for the entire private industry. In 2008, the rate of nonfatal injuries and illnesses in coal mining was 4.4 cases per 100 full-time workers, which was 13 percent higher than the rate for total private industry. Coal mining is