The case for first aid training is borne out by recently-released USA Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data that show workplace fatalities for 2010 reached 4,547.
Some 1,766 were transportation related, 808 were from assaults, 732 from being struck by an object, 635 from falls, 409 from toxic exposures and 187 from fires and explosions.
In terms of occupation, most were in transportation/materials moving (1,115) and construction/mining industries (760).
Management occupations came third with 533, including 29 top executive deaths.
Non-fatal incidents (for 2009) totalled more than 3.2 million in the private sector alone, BLS figures say.
These included 195,150 back injuries and 212,760 falls and the high-risk professions included those with significant lifting or other physical labour such as patrol officers, nursing aides, orderlies and attendants, delivery truck drivers, construction labourers, janitors and cleaners.