In Texas, a job is more likely to kill

Joe Register (bottom center) of Early and other ironworkers watched a rappelling safety drill Saturday during a fall prevention and safety training session in Arlington. To qualify for a full journeyman’s wage — $23 an hour in Texas — ironworkers have to complete the 30-hour course.

Photos by Andy Jacobsohn /Staff Photographer

More workers die here than in any other state. On average, a Texas worker is 12 percent more likely to be killed on the job than someone doing the same job elsewhere, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis of federal data.

How safe is your hospital? Chance of serious complications varies widely

Dr. Sabatino Bianco operates at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital. The chains’s chief clinical officer attributes its record to a focus on getting “the basics” right.

Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer

The chance you will suffer a serious, preventable complication varies dramatically based on where in Texas you’re hospitalized, a Dallas Morning News analysis shows.

Individual results: Texas Patient Safety Check

Surgery gone right: Ticking the boxes for safety

Temps with criminal pasts slip by Dallas County officials

County supervisors often know little about who shows up when staffing contractors send them temps. That’s even after a temp using a false name once stole $1,360 from the tax office. Several contractors who have supplied temps said they conduct background checks. Two firms called it an unintentional mistake that some workers slipped through.

File 2008 / Staff Photo

Contractors don’t always catch criminal records, and county officials say they sometimes don’t know about temps’ histories.