Michigan workplace death toll for 2025. 3 on-the-job fatalities confirmed by MIOSHA

• Michigan had 31 worker deaths in 2024 and 36 in 2023.
• MIOSHA urges employers and employees to prioritize safety in all work activities.

Michigan officials confirmed three workers were killed on the job recently, bringing the number of people who have died at work to 23 in 2025.

A worker at a Mt. Pleasant Meijer died in a fall on July 22, a research consultant was killed in Holland on July 27, and a propane delivery driver died in Wellston when the fuel caught fire and burned them on July 28, the Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Administration said in a release.

The fatalities were the fifth, sixth and seventh reported in July, according to MIOSHA statistics. In 2024, three Michigan workers died in the month of July, and four in 2023.

In the most recent confirmed fatality, MIOSHA said a 61-year-old deliver driver was killing a propane tank on June 12 at a home when the tank caught fire.

“The driver sustained burns to their entire body and was taken to the hospital. The employer was notified on July 28 that the worker had died,” MIOSHA said.

No other information was released about the Wexford County incident. UpNorthLive reported that the man received second- and third-degree burns and that the fire spread to a nearby home.

On July 22, a 59-year-old dairy and frozen food worker in Mt. Pleasant was unloading stock from a semi-truck trailer using a stand-up powered industrial truck, MIOSHA said.

“The worker fell from the truck and struck their head on the walking-working surface. The employer was notified on July 28 that the worker had died at the hospital,” MIOSHA said.

No additional information was released. Multiple news outlets reported that the incident took place at Meijer in Mt. Pleasant.

In the third incident, on July 27, a 34-year-old senior researcher was installing and setting up a machine at a customer location when the machine activated, and the victim was caught between the frame and the lifting mechanism, crushing them, MIOSHA said.

The Holland Sentinel reported that the victim, whom the Holland Department of Public Safety identified as Kim Jong Won, an employee of LG PRI, a vendor company working on the automation of machinery at LG, died at the scene.

There were 16 deaths through June this year. In 2024, Michigan saw 12 worker deaths in the first six months of the year while 17 workers died through June 2023.

There were 36 MIOSHA-reported deaths in 2023 and 31 overall in 2024; 2009 saw the lowest number with 24. 

What to know about worker safety in Michigan:

How many on-the-job deaths have happened in Michigan in 2025?

According to MIOSHA, in addition to the latest fatality, the following deaths have occurred in 2025:

• Jan. 3, Almont: A 43-year-old cement finisher died of “inhalation” after using propane-powered equipment in an enclosed barn without ventilation. A second worker was hospitalized in critical condition.
• Jan. 16, Ravenna: A 42-year-old laborer died when they were struck by the tongue of a trailer.
• Feb. 10, Traverse City: A 29-year-old roofer fell 20 feet to the ground.
• Feb. 12, Carsonville: A 34-year-old pipefitter died when a trench in which they were working caved in.
• March 9, Sterling Heights: A 32-year-old roofer fell about 20 feet to the ground.
• April 7, Dundee: A 63-year-old machine repairman was struck and pinned by a motorized arm near a conveyor line.
• April 15, Ann Arbor: A 64-year-old truck driver was struck by a semi-trailer while attempting to hook it to the truck.
• April 30, Jackson: A 46-year-old student support specialist was found unresponsive with a metal file cabinet on top of them. Emergency services were called. The employee was pronounced on scene. The autopsy indicated the cause of death to be traumatic (compression) chest asphyxia from the file cabinet.
• May 14, White Cloud: A 38-year-old arborist was killed when an oak tree fell.
• May 24, Comstock Park: A 71-year-old machine operator fell and was struck in the head while cutting bands from metal tubing.
• May 28, Oakland Township: A 32-year-old laborer was operating a riding lawnmower was pinned when it overturned.
• June 16, Potterville: A 27-year-old construction worker was killed at Potterville High School when steel trusses fell on them and another worker.
• June 19, Ann Arbor: A 48-year-old truck driver was killed when their vehicle overturned and pinned the man in the cab as they were backing up for stone delivery.
• June 22, Muskegon: A 17-year-old hired to cut up a fallen tree at a “residential location” was found next to their chainsaw “with a laceration to their neck.”
• June 28, Ludington: A 24-year-old Wayland man working for an Ada-based company was using a boom lift to install gutters when he came into contact with electric lines and suffered a shock.
• June 30, Brighton Township: A 23-year-old St. Clair Shores worker was in an excavated hole when the bucket of a large excavator struck him.
• July 2, Detroit: A concrete mixing truck backed into a 47-year-old laborer pinning them between a dumpster and the mixing truck.
• July 6, New Era: The 56-year-old co-owner of Lewis Adventure Farm and Zoo was placing cones for customer parking and walking toward the office when she was struck by another employee driving a personal vehicle to the employee parking lot.
• July 23, Farmington Hills: A 50-year-old highway maintenance laborer was struck by a passenger vehicle while performing road work.
• July 23, Detroit: A 44-year-old worker was cleaning on the roof of a building under renovation when the building’s parapet wall collapsed and fell onto them.

Michigan worker deaths in recent years

The number of workers killed on the job by year:

• 2024: 31
• 2023: 36
• 2022: 45
• 2021: 54
• 2020: 75
• 2019: 39
• 2018: 38
• 2017: 39
• 2016: 43
• 2015: 29
• 2014: 37
• 2013: 28
• 2012: 27

How many workers died in 2024 nationally?

In fiscal year 2024, federal OSHA investigated 826 worker deaths, an 11% reduction from 928 in the previous year, the agency said. Excluding COVID-19-related deaths, fiscal 2024 was the lowest number of worker fatalities OSHA has been mandated to investigate since 2017.