Most North Dakota Worker Deaths Happen on the Road, but the Feds Typically Don’t Investigate Them

On June 21, 2013, Patrick Wilkie, an employee of Triangle Electric, and his two co-workers died in a fiery five-vehicle crash near Stanley while driving to a work site. It is unclear whether the three deaths were counted as transportation-related, since the Labor Department does not publicly disclose how cases are classified. The AFL-CIO, a federation of U.S. labor unions, has criticized Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other federal entities for not having enough investigators to look into worker deaths. A Labor Department spokesperson said the agency does not release information on individual cases due to a confidentiality policy and how data is collected. Families who have lost loved ones in workplace incidents not only expect OSHA to investigate all transportation-related workplace deaths, but also want companies and government officials to do more to prevent them.