Even though the economy is strong and employers have the resources to make their workplaces safer, more Michigan workers are dying on the job. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of workers killed in Michigan rose to 182 in 1999.

There is also a disturbing nationwide increase in the number of deaths caused by machinery. According to OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 1996 to 1997, deaths caused by workers being caught in machinery increased 29 percent. From 1992 to 1996, serious nonfatal injuries resulting from workers being caught in machinery totaled 34,000 and was the leading cause of amputations among private industry wage and salary workers.

Why are more working people being killed and maimed in this time of record economic prosperity? The answer to this question is twofold: lack of state enforcement, and the law, which prevents employees from suing employers who negligently maintain unsafe working conditions.

The Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services investigates workplace injuries. One of its divisions is the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or MIOSHA. This year an employee was fined only $2,000 by MIOSHA after an employee was killed due to an unsafe working condition.

Another company was fined even less when one of its employees lost his entire arm in an unguarded conveyor. In 1997, Michigan ranked 48th out of 50 states when it came to imposing serious citations on employers. The same year, Michigan ranked 12th highest in the number of workers killed. It is unacceptable that Michigan had more worker deaths than 38 other states and worse yet that only two states wrote fewer citations than Michigan.

Many people erroneously believe the threat of a lawsuit prompts employers to make employee safety a priority. In Michigan, it is virtually impossible to have a viable case against your employer if you are killed or injured at work.

In the mid-1990s, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Manufacturer's Association and various employers associations lobbied the Michigan Legislature to revise the law making workers' compensation the only remedy for employees injured at work unless the employer commits an "intentional act". This means that even a worker who is blinded or has his arms or legs amputated cannot sue his employer unless it can be proven that the employer tried to injure him on purpose.

Worker deaths and injuries in Michigan will most likely continue to rise because employers with unsafe equipment and work sites currently have little incentive to make their workplaces safer. MIOSHA, the legislature and our courts have failed to ensure that employers provide basic job safety to their employees. It is high time MIOSHA and our legislature increased enforcement, fines and civil remedies to force employers to follow fundamental safety practices to decrease the number of worker deaths and injuries.

-Brian J. Benner is a founding partner of the Farmington Hills-based international law firm of Benner and Bilicki.