Maori work-related fatal injury, 1985-1994

To document the rate of work-related fatal injury for Maori; to establish whether a difference exists between Maori and non-Maori; and to examine possible explanations in the event that differences did occur.

Coronial files collected as part of the examination of work-related fatal injuries occurring between 1985 and 1994, excluding motor vehicle fatalities on public roads, were reviewed. Maori were identified by either the classification recorded upon death certificates or if they were identified as Maori within coroner's files.

89 Maori were identified within the 741 worker fatalities. Agreement between the data sources used to identify ethnic status was approximately 52%. The crude rate for the decade was significantly higher for Maori than non-Maori. A significant linear decline across years was evident for the non-Maori rates but not for Maori rates.

This study, the first to specifically investigate work-related injury for Maori, confirms that an overall disparity exists between Maori and non-Maori, and that it is probably due to differences in employment patterns.