135,000 Workers Die From Occupational Diseases Every Year as Federal Safety Infrastructure Remains on Unstable Ground
Gorayeb & Associates, P.C.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, released in February 2026, 5,070 workers suffered fatal injuries on the job in 2024. A worker died every 104 minutes. Hispanic or Latino workers faced a fatal injury rate of 4.3 per 100,000 full time equivalent workers, and 68.5 percent of the 1,229 fatalities among those workers occurred among foreign born Hispanic or Latino workers.
"Occupational diseases don't announce themselves with sirens and ambulances," said Christopher J. Gorayeb, founding partner of Gorayeb & Associates. "They develop quietly over months and years. By the time a worker receives a diagnosis, the damage is already done. These families deserve aggressive legal representation, and they deserve a government that invests in keeping them safe."
The federal safety infrastructure meant to protect these workers was thrown into crisis in 2025. In April, the Department of Health and Human Services targeted more than 90 percent of the NIOSH workforce for layoffs, approximately 1,000 scientists and technical experts. Every research center was shuttered. The Mine Safety and Health Administration paused enforcement of a new silica dust rule, citing the upheaval. That rule remains tied up in litigation before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals as of March 2026.
After nine months of legal challenges and public pressure, HHS reversed course in January 2026 and reinstated all laid off employees. But the damage from nine months of frozen research is not easily undone, and the agency's long-term funding remains uncertain: the Trump administration proposed cutting approximately 80 percent of NIOSH's budget in its fiscal 2026 request, and Congress has yet to finalize appropriations.
"When federal agencies spend nine months in limbo, workers' pay the price," Gorayeb added. "Every worker in this state, regardless of immigration status, has the right to a safe workplace, proper medical care, and full compensation when that right is violated."
The firm notes that Workers' Compensation is not the only legal option available to injured workers. Experienced attorneys can often identify additional claims, including third party lawsuits under New York's Scaffold Safety Law, which holds property owners and general contractors strictly liable for gravity related safety failures. Gorayeb & Associates serves a large portion of New York's Latino workforce and offers all services in Spanish.
About Gorayeb & Associates, P.C.
Founded in 1986, Gorayeb & Associates, P.C. is one of New York's leading personal injury law firms, specializing in construction accident litigation and occupational injury claims. The firm has represented more than 12,000 injured workers and secured over $2 billion in verdicts and settlements.
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