Work in California agriculture is dangerous. This translates into an annual rate of nearly 46 disabling injuries per 1,000 persons working in California agriculture, a rate significantly above the state average of about 35 per 1,000 workers, and even higher than the estimated rate of about 42 per 1,000 workers in California mining.
Workplace injuries are expensive to both the employer and worker.
The injured worker also pays a price in physical pain caused by the injury, lost wages, and possible loss of the ability to gain employment. While everyone loses from a workplace safety incident, they continue to happen with remarkable frequency and destructive severity. Accidents were something workers expected could happen to them when they went to work. But those who study occupational injury and illness know they can be prevented. In fact, most incidents resulting in workplace injury or illness are predictable and preventable.