Roads and Rage Account For 58% of All Work-Related Fatalities

October 11, 2013- There were 4,383 fatal work injuries recorded in the U.S. in 2012 -- down from 4,693 fatalities in 2011, according to a preliminary report by The Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s the second-lowest preliminary total since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) was first conducted in 1992. The rate of fatal work injuries for U.S. workers in 2012 was 3.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, down from 3.5 per 100,000 in 2011.

Transportation incidents accounted for 41% of all fatal work injuries in 2012.  Of the 1,789 transportation injuries, about 58% (1,044 cases) were roadway accidents involving motorized land vehicles. Non-roadway incidents, such as a tractor overturn in a farm field, accounted for another 13% of transportation-related fatal injuries. About 16% of fatal transportation incidents involved pedestrians struck by vehicles.

Another 17% (767 cases) of work-related fatalities can be attributed to “Violence and other injuries by persons or animals.” This includes 463 homicides and 225 suicides.

Fatal falls, slips, or trips took the lives of 668 workers (15% of all cases) in 2012, down slightly from 2011.

Other key findings:

  • Construction accounted for the highest number of fatal work injuries of any industry sector in 2012.
  • Fatal work injuries in the private construction sector increased 5% to 775 in 2012 from 738 in 2011. Yet the total hours worked in the private construction industry only increased 1% in 2012.
  • Overall, there were 777 fatal work injuries involving foreign-born workers in 2012, of which the greatest share (38%) were born in Mexico.
  • Fatal work injuries declined among non-Hispanic white workers (down 10%) and Hispanic or Latino workers (down 5%) in 2012. They were higher among non-Hispanic black or African-American workers and non-Hispanic Asian workers.
  • Fatal work injuries involving workers under age 16 nearly doubled, rising from 10 in 2011 to 19 in 2012 — the highest total since 2005.
  • Fatal work injuries in the private mining sector rose in 2012, led by an increase in fatal injuries to workers in oil and gas extraction industries. Fatal work injuries in oil and gas extraction industries rose 23 percent to 138 in 2012, reaching a new high for the series.

For more detailed information on fatal injuries by industry click here.

To see the BLS Press Release and to read more

Carnow Conibear and Associates is a demonstrated leader in the occupational and environmental health professions since 1975. To find out more, click here or call us at (800) 860-448.