labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Dozens of onlookers, including families with children who had just left Walt Disney World, were shocked by a brutal workplace stabbing over the Labor Day Weekend.  According to a recent OSHA report, workplace homicides nationwide are dwindling—but they are still too common.

Debra Caso, a 40-year-old waitress, was working at the Denny’s on International Drive in Orlando at about 9 pm. The restaurant is near the entrance to Walt Disney World. Caso was confronted by her estranged husband, Alejandro Caso, 47, in the restaurant’s reception area. Caso had recently filed a restraining order against her estranged husband.

Alejandro Caso stabbed the woman repeated in the neck and chest with a pocket knife before he was chased away by restaurant employees and onlookers.

Alejandro Caso escaped by jumping over a fence and fleeing the property on foot. A Denny’s customer pursued the man, who threw away the knife and lost his shoes in the chase.  Caso is still at large, and may be driving a 1991 white Chevrolet station wagon.

Debra Caso died of multiple stab wounds in the ambulance, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Debra Caso was the mother of two teens, and the grandmother of one child.

As tragic as Caso’s story is, it is becoming a less common one in the workplace, according to a recent report. Total assaults and violent acts resulting in death decreased from 792 in 2005 to 754 in 2006. That’s a reduction of about 5%.

According to an annual report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics or BLS, homicides in the workplace are on the downswing.  In 2006, OSHA reported the lowest number of workplace homicides since the BLS began keeping records. The rate was a decline of more than 50% from the highest reported workplace homicide rate, in 1994.

Like all the BLS workplace fatality records, these have been adjusted to eliminate deaths associated with the 2001 terrorist attacks in Washington, D.C. and New York. Had those fatalities at work been included, 2001 would have had far more workplace homicides than any other year.

Between 2001 and 2005, there were an average of 602 homicides per year at work. In 2005, that number was 567. In 2006, figures show a 9% decrease in the homicide rate at work, with 516 homicides. These include 199 people who died of self-inflicted wounds, often during the commission of another crime at work.

Of the 2006 homicides, 81%, or 417, were shootings. The rate of stabbings in the workplace declined 37%, from 60 in 2005 to 38 in 2006. Overall, workplace stabbings account for just 1% of workplace fatalities.

More people are killed each year by falls, or injuries from equipment than by violence in the workplace. In 2006, the number of workers killed in falls was 809, up from the 2005 number of 770, an increase of about 5%. Across the board, every type of fall resulted in more fatalities in 2006 than in 2005.

Injuries by equipment are decreasing by a modest 2%.  In 2006, 983 people were killed in such accidents, compared to 1005 in 2005. These accidents include being struck by a falling or flying object, sustaining fatal injuries after being caught in equipment, being compressed in equipment or collapsing materials, and being caught in equipment that is running.

The #1 killer of American workers is still the motor vehicle. Transportation accidents accounted for 42% of workplace fatalities in 2006, killing 2413 people. This was 80 fewer deaths than the prior year. Workplace vehicle accidents include collisions, striking a stationary object in or beside the road and being struck by a vehicle. These numbers also include deaths to workers who are struck by a motor vehicle, and deaths due to trains, boats and aircraft.

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1. Posted by: Trends in Workplace Violence - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] Still, in a tragic event in September, a 40-year-old waitress at an Orlando Denny’s was stabbed by her estranged husband in the restaurant on International Drive. Several families who had just left Walt Disney World witnessed the brutal attack. Customers and coworkers chased the attacker away. The man escaped only after jumping a nearby fence. In his haste to flee, he left behind the bloody knife and ran right out of one of his shoes. Despite the paramedics’ best efforts, the woman died of her injuries. [...]

2. Posted by: Oregon Teacher Sues for Right to Bring Gun to Work - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] Many workers are concerned about safety on the job following a rash of violent incidents. These include a tragic event in September, when a 40-year-old waitress at an Orlando Denny’s was stabbed by her estranged husband in the restaurant on International Drive. Several families who had just left Walt Disney World witnessed the brutal attack. Customers and coworkers chased the attacker away. The man escaped only after jumping a nearby fence. In his haste to flee, he left behind the bloody knife and ran right out of one of his shoes. Despite the paramedics’ best efforts, the woman died of her injuries. [...]

3. Posted by: Omaha Violence in the Workplace - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] In another tragic event in September, a gunman shot and killed two students outside a dining hall at Delaware State University in Dover, Delaware. The school was put on lockdown and 1,700 students were restricted to their dormitories. The use of cell phones helped most students become aware of the shooting and the lockdown. [...]

4. Posted by: Workplace Violence in Illinois - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] At an Orlando Denny’s restaurant on International Drive, a 40-year-old waitress was killed over the Labor Day weekend when her estranged husband attacked her with a knife. The assailant, chased by customers and employees, escaped by leaping a fence, leaving behind his bloody knife and one of his shoes. [...]

5. Posted by: Louisiana Workplace Violence - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] A 40-year-old waitress at an Orlando Denny’s was killed over the Labor Day weekend 2007 when her estranged husband stabbed her at the restaurant on International Drive. Both staff and customers chased the man, who escaped by jumping a fence, leaving behind a bloody knife and one of his shoes. [...]

6. Posted by: OSHA Warns Employers on Iowa Workplace Violence - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] an Orlando Denny’s during Labor Day weekend of 2007, a 40-year-old waitress was stabbed to death by her estranged [...]

7. Posted by: Texas Workplace Violence - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] the tragic massacre at Virginia Tech to a stabbing at an Orlando Denny’s and an attempted “suicide by cop” at the University of Wisconsin Madison 2007 saw its share of [...]

8. Posted by: Ohio Workplace Violence - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] estranged husband of a 40-year-old waitress at an Orlando Denny’s stabbed her to death over the Labor Day weekend of 2007. The man’s vicious attack was witnessed [...]

9. Posted by: Wisconsin Workplace Violence - Labor Law Center Blog

   [...] the tragic massacre at Virginia Tech to a shooting at Delaware State University and a stabbing at an Orlando Denny’s Restaurant, 2007 saw several incidents of workplace violence. The two more recent tragic episodes [...]