National Census of

Fatal Occupational
Injuries, 1995

BY GUY TOSCANO AND JANICE WINDAU

atal work injuries fell 6 percent in 1995 to 6,210, according to the Bureaus Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. Much of the decrease resulted from a 35percent drop in the number of workers killed in aircraft crashes and a 19-percent
drop in the number of workers killed in firearm-related homicides. Most other types of
job-related fatalities also declined in 1995. Although truckdrivers continued to have the
highest number of fatal work injuries of any occupation, fishers and timber cutters had
the highest risk of fatal injury on the job.
This article, which is based on
BLS fatality census data, describes
the major types of events which
resulted in worker fatalities and
profiles the most dangerous jobs in
1995. The BLS census, which began
collecting data nationally in 1992,
uses diverse data sources to identify,
verify, and profile fatal work
injuries. Key information about
each workplace fatality, such as
occupation and other worker
characteristics and the circumstances
of the event, is obtained by crossreferencing source documents,
including death certificates, workers
compensation records, and reports to
Federal and State agencies. This
method assures counts are as
complete and accurate as possible.

1995. These two events accounted

for over a third of the work injury
deaths that occurred during the year.
Both categories experienced a slight
reduction in fatalities from the
previous year. (See table 1.)

Major fatal events

Highway traffic incidents and
homicides led all other events that
resulted in fatal work injuries in

Total job-related highway fatalities ...........................

Highway motor vehicle ..................................................
Truck .....................................................................
Semitrailer, tractor trailer ....................................
Pickup truck .......................................................
Automobile ..............................................................
Van
.....................................................................
Tractors .....................................................................
Machinery ....................................................................

Guy Toscano is an economist and Janice

Windau is an epidemiologist in the Office of Safety,
Health and Working Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Telephone (202) 606-6175.

Highway fatalities. Highway traffic

incidents accounted for 21 percent of
the 6,210 fatal work injuries in
1995. Slightly over half of highway
fatality victims were driving or
riding in a truck. The following
tabulation summarizes the major
types of vehicles in which the worker
was riding at the time of the fatal
incident.1

About half the highway fatalities

resulted from collisions between two
or more vehicles. One-fifth of the
fatalities resulted from a crash with
an object other than a vehicle, such
as a tree, bridge abutment, or utility
pole; another fifth occurred when the
vehicle jackknifed or overturned.
Patterns varied somewhat according
to the type of vehicle involved.
Collisions with other vehicles,
crashes with objects on the side of
the road, and jackknifings and
overturnings contributed about
equally (roughly 30 percent each) to
the deaths of those riding in tractor
trailers. For workers killed while

Number
1,329
1,271
729
359
136
344
74
29
20

Percent
100
96
55
27
10
26
6
2
2

Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

34

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by event or exposure, 1992-1995

Fatalities
Event or exposure1

1992

1993

19942

Number

Number

Number

Number

Total ...............................................................................................

6,217

6,331

6,632

6,210

100

Transportation incidents ..................................................................

Highway ..........................................................................................
Collision between vehicles, mobile equipment ............................
Moving in same direction .......................................................
Moving in opposite directions, oncoming ...............................
Moving in intersection ............................................................
Vehicle struck stationary object or equipment .............................
Noncollision ................................................................................
Jack-knifed or overturnedno collision .................................
Nonhighway (farm, industrial premises) ..........................................
Overturned ............................................................................
Aircraft ............................................................................................
Worker struck by a vehicle ..............................................................
Water vehicle ..................................................................................
Railway ...........................................................................................

2,484
1,158
578
78
201
107
192
301
213
436
208
353
346
109
66

2,501
1,243
657
99
244
123
190
336
237
392
212
282
365
120
86

2,762
1,343
654
120
230
144
255
373
274
409
226
426
391
94
81

2,560
1,329
634
125
244
97
268
350
260
388
210
278
385
84
82

41
21
10
2
4
2
4
6
4
6
3
4
6
1
1

Assaults and violent acts ................................................................

Homicides ......................................................................................
Shooting .....................................................................................
Stabbing .....................................................................................
Other, including bombing ............................................................
Self-inflicted injury ..........................................................................

1,281
1,044
852
90
102
205

1,329
1,074
884
95
95
222

1,321
1,080
934
60
86
214

1,262
1,024
754
67
203
215

20
16
12
1
3
3

Contact with objects and equipment ..............................................

Struck by object ..............................................................................
Struck by falling object ................................................................
Struck by flying object .................................................................
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects .........................
Caught in running equipment or machinery ................................
Caught in or crushed in collapsing materials ..................................

1,004
557
361
77
316
159
110

1,045
566
346
82
309
151
138

1,017
590
372
68
280
147
132

915
546
340
63
255
131
99

15
9
5
1
4
2
2

Falls ...................................................................................................
Fall to lower level ............................................................................
Fall from ladder ...........................................................................
Fall from roof ...............................................................................
Fall from scaffold ........................................................................
Fall on same level ...........................................................................

600
507
78
108
66
62

618
533
76
120
71
49

665
580
86
129
89
63

643
573
97
142
82
50

10
9
2
2
1
1

Exposure to harmful substances or environments .......................

Contact with electric current ...........................................................
Contact with overhead powerlines ..............................................
Contact with temperature extremes ................................................
Exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances .................
Inhalation of substances .............................................................
Oxygen deficiency ..........................................................................
Drowning, submersion ................................................................

605
334
140
33
127
83
111
78

592
325
115
38
115
68
111
89

641
348
132
50
133
84
109
89

598
347
139
55
101
62
94
74

10
6
2
1
2
1
2
1

Fires and explosions ........................................................................

167

204

202

208

76

43

24

24

Other events or exposures ..............................................................

1
Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification Structures.
2
The BLS news release issued August 3,1995, reported a total of 6,588 fatal
work injuries for calendar year 1994. Since then, an additional 44 job-related
fatalities were identified, bringing the total job-related fatality count for 1994 to
6,632.

35 Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

1995
Percent

3
Includes the category Bodily reaction and exertion.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown
separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes
indicate less than 0.5 percent or data that are not available or that do not
meet publication criteria.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in cooperation with State and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

riding in other types of highway

vehicles, collisions between vehicles
accounted for slightly over half of
the fatalities.
About two-fifths of the workers
killed were truckdrivers, with the
rest scattered throughout other
occupational groups, such as sales
workers, farm occupations, police
officers, and executives and managers. A similar pattern is evident in
the industry of the workers employer. One-fourth of the workers
fatally injured in highway incidents
worked in the trucking and courier
service industry. The remaining
fatalities were widely dispersed
among other industries.
Homicide. Job-related homicides
accounted for 1 of every 6 of the
fatal work injuries that occurred in
1995 and was the second leading
cause of job-related deaths. The
drop in firearm-related workplace
homicides resulted in an overall
decline in job-related homicide from
the 1994 total, despite the bombing
of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building in Oklahoma City, which
accounted for 12 percent of the
homicide total in 1995.
While three times as many male
workers were murdered as female
workers, homicide was the leading
cause of job-related fatality for
women, accounting for nearly half of
women's work injuries. And,
homicides of female workers went
up by about one-third from 1994,
while homicides of male workers
went down by about one-eighth.
Because of their occupations,
homicide was also the leading cause
of job-related death for the self-

employed and for blacks, Asian and

Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics.
The table below shows the
circumstances surrounding the 1,024
job-related homicides that occurred
in 1995.
Most of the workplace homicides
resulted from robberies or robberyattempts. Typically these robberies
involved store personnel, gas station
attendants, or taxicab drivers being
shot for cash receipts. But several
workers were killed during
carjackings, muggings, and robberies of goods or services, such as
robberies of beer trucks. Oneseventh of the job-related homicide
victims were police officers and
security guards killed in the line of
duty; one-eighth were victims of the
bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building in Oklahoma City
(including some police officers).
One-tenth of workplace homicide
victims were killed by a current or
former work associate, almost double
the number from the previous year.
And several workers, primarily
women, were killed as a result of
domestic disputes that filtered into
the workplace.
Half the victims of workplace
homicide worked in either a sales
occupation (such as sales clerk, retail
store owner, or cashier) or a servicerelated occupation (such as police
officer, security guard, or food
preparer). Taxicab drivers and
various management-related
occupations also reported high
numbers of job-related homicides.
Although job-related homicides in
retail trade dropped by 21 percent
from the previous year, they still
accounted for 41 percent of all

Total job-related homicides .........................................

Robberies and other crimes ............................................
Work associates ..............................................................
Coworker, former coworker ........................................
Customer, client .........................................................
Police killed in the line of duty ..........................................
Security guard killed in the line of duty ............................
Personal acquaintance of the victim ................................
Husband, boyfriend (current or former) ......................
Wife, girlfriend (current or former) ..............................
Other relative or acquaintance ...................................

Number

Percent

1,024
727
113
88
25
81
59
44
25
4
15

100
71
11
9
2
8
6
4
2
1

workplace homicides in 1995.

Homicides in convenience and other
grocery stores, eating and drinking
places, and gasoline service stations
predominated among retail establishments. Government workers
accounted for one-fifth of the
homicide victims, twice as many as
the previous year because of the
Oklahoma City bombing.
Falls. Falls accounted for 10 percent
of the fatal work injuries in 1995.
The demographics of those sustaining fatal falls mirrored those of all
workers fatally injured during the
year. They were overwhelmingly
white, male, wage and salary
workers, and most were in their
prime working ages (25 to 54 years
old). One-fourth of the fatal fall
victims, however, were 55 years and
olderdouble that age groups share
of the work force.
Not surprisingly, falls accounted
for about one-third of the fatal
injuries to construction workers,
given that working at elevations is
common for several of the construction trades, such as roofers and
structural metal workers. The
construction industry as a whole
accounted for half of the fatal falls,
compared with a sixth of all fatal
work injuries and about a twentieth
of the total work force. Agriculture,
forestry, and fishing, manufacturing,
and services each accounted for
about one-tenth of the fatal falls to
workers.
The table on the following page
summarizes the types of falls
resulting in fatal work injuries in
1995.
While fatal job-related falls were
down from 1994, falls from or
through roofs rose slightly during
1995, accounting for about one-fifth
of the fatal falls to workers. Working on roofs poses a variety of fall
hazards. Workers can fall through
an existing roof opening, through
the roof surface itself, through a
skylight, or off the roof edge.2
Fatal injuries due to falls from
ladders also rose slightly during

Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

36

Number
Total falls .................................................................
Fall to lower level ..........................................................
From roof ................................................................
From ladder .............................................................
From scaffold, staging .............................................
From floor, dock, or ground level .............................
From building girder or
structural steel ......................................................
From nonmoving vehicle .........................................
Down stairs or steps ...............................................
Fall on same level .........................................................
To floor, walkway, or other surface ...........................
Onto or against objects ...........................................
Other or unspecified .....................................................

1995 and accounted for about oneseventh of the total. Falls from
scaffolding or staging resulted in
another seventh of the fatal falls to
workers; and falls from building
girders or other structural steel, falls
from nonmoving vehicles, and falls
to walkways on the same level each
accounted for about 5 percent of the
total.
Workers struck by objects. Nine
percent of fatally injured workers
were struck by objects, such as
falling trees, machinery that had
slipped into gear, and building
materials. Fatalities from these
types of incidents were at their
lowest level since the fatality census
began in 1992. Excluded from this
category are transportation incidents
that occur under normal operation of
the vehicle, such as a worker struck
by a vehicle backing up on a
construction site. The category does,
however, include instances where a
vehicle coasts, rolls, slips into gear,
or falls off a jack.
Over three-fifths of the struck
by fatalities resulted from the
worker being struck by a falling
object, such as a tree being cut down,
a cinder block falling from a
construction scaffold, or a vehicle
falling off a jack during repair.
Another eighth of the fatalities
resulted from flying objects, such as
when an object becomes dislodged or
is discharged from a machine.
Examples of these types of incidents
include a bullet accidentally dis-

Percent

643
573
142
97
82
33

100
89
22
15
13
5

33
32
16
50
31
12
20

5
5
2
8
5
2
3

charging from a gun or a metal

fragment dislodging from a lathe.
Another eighth of the fatalities
occurred when the worker was struck
by a rolling object on the floor or
ground level, such as when a tractor
that is being jumpstarted slips into
gear.
Trees and tree branches accounted for one-fourth of the objects
which fatally struck workers, more
than any other single source.
Machines and vehicles together
accounted for about one-third of the
objects, and building materials, such
as lumber, bricks, and pipes,
accounted for about one-eighth.
Almost a third of the fatalities
occurred to workers in a manufacturing industry, half of which were in
logging. Agriculture, forestry, and
fishing and construction each
accounted for almost one-fifth of the
struck by fatalities.
Electrocutions. Contact with
electric current accounted for 6
percent of the worker deaths in
1995. While most other major fatal
event categories declined in number
from the 1994 total, job-related

electrocutions remained virtually at

the same level as last year. Twofifths of these fatalities resulted from
the worker or the equipment being
used coming in contact with overhead power lines. The table below
summarizes the type of electric
current involved in the job-related
electrocutions.
The construction industry
accounted for half the fatal contacts
with electric current. Construction
workers came into contact with
electric current while on bucket
trucks, cranes, bulldozers, and
ladders. Several were electrocuted
while in crawl spaces under houses
or in ceilings or while drilling
through paneling.
The services and agriculture,
forestry, and fishing industries each
accounted for about one-tenth of the
job-related electrocutions. Service
workers were typically electrocuted
while installing or repairing machines, appliances, or other equipment such as neon signs and
billboards. Workers in agriculture,
forestry, and fishing were electrocuted when equipment they were
moving, such as irrigation pipes or
grain augers, came into contact with
a power line. Several farmers were
struck by lightning.
Dangerous jobs
Fatality counts. Truckdrivers
continued to have the highest
number of job-related injury fatalities of any single occupation. (See
table 2.) They accounted for 1 out of
every 8 workers killed on the job.
About two-thirds of these fatalities
resulted from highway crashes and
jackknifings. Workers in various

Total electrocutions .................................................

Overhead power lines ...................................................
Wiring, transformers, or other
electrical components .................................................
Machine, tool, appliance, light fixture ............................
Lightning .......................................................................
Underground, buried power lines ..................................
Other or unspecified .....................................................

37 Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

Number

Percent

347
139

100
40

94
55
17
5
37

27
16
5
1
11

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by occupation and major event or exposure, 1995
Major event or exposure2 (percent)

Fatalities
Occupation1
Number

Percent Highway3 Homicide

Struck by
object

Fall to
lower
level

Rate4

Total ............................................................................................

6,210

100

21

16

Managerial and professional specialty .......................................

Executive, administrative, and managerial ................................
Professional specialty ...............................................................

699
467
232

11
8
4

24
22
30

28
34
16

3
3
3

6
7
5

2
3
1

Technical, sales, and administrative support .............................

Technicians and related support occupations ...........................
Airplane pilots and navigators ..............................................
Sales occupations .....................................................................
Supervisors and proprietors, sales occupations ..................
Sales workers, retail and personal services ........................
Cashiers .............................................................................
Administrative support occupations, including clerical .............

815
189
111
492
212
213
116
134

13
3
2
8
3
3
2
2

19
13
19
13
15
3
25

46
7
61
63
73
92
47

2
2
2
3
-

2
2
2
1
1
5

2
5
97
3
5
3
4
1

Service occupations. ....................................................................

Protective service occupations .................................................
Firefighting and fire prevention occupations,
including supervisors ........................................................
Police and detectives including supervisors ........................
Guards, including supervisors .............................................

533
314

9
5

20
21

40
45

1
-

6
2

3
14

39
174
101

1
3
2

28
27
9

47
58

2
-

13
17
11

Farming, forestry, and fishing .....................................................

Farming operators and managers .............................................
Farmers, except horticultural ...............................................
Managers, farms, except horticultural ..................................
Other agricultural and related occupations ................................
Farm workers, including supervisors ...................................
Forestry and logging occupations .............................................
Timber cutting and logging occupations ...............................
Fishers, hunters, and trappers ..................................................
Fishers ................................................................................

864
332
244
73
359
262
116
98
57
48

14
5
4
1
6
4
2
2
1
1

10
10
10
12
12
12
4
-

2
3
2
3
2
-

20
11
9
18
13
11
74
81
-

6
7
7
7
7
5
4
3
-

23
23
20
45
17
30
90
101
97
104

Precision production, craft, and repair .......................................

Mechanics and repairers ...........................................................
Construction trades ...................................................................
Carpenters and apprentices ................................................
Electricians and apprentices ...............................................
Electrical power installers and repairers ..............................
Painters ...............................................................................
Roofers ................................................................................
Structural metal workers ......................................................

1,041
265
607
96
117
35
45
60
38

17
4
10
2
2
1
1
1
1

10
15
8
9
4
-

4
6
2
-

9
14
6
14
3
11

25
9
36
42
16
17
38
75
66

8
6
12
8
16
28
9
29
64

Operators, fabricators, and laborers ...........................................

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .......................
Transportation and material moving occupations ......................
Motor vehicle operators .......................................................
Truck drivers .......................................................................
Driver-sales workers ...........................................................
Taxicab drivers and chauffeurs ...........................................
Material moving equipment operators .......................................
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ...............
Construction laborers ................................................................
Laborers, except construction ...................................................

2,051
238
1,148
918
749
33
99
167
665
309
212

33
4
18
15
12
1
2
3
11
5
3

32
5
50
61
68
42
18
10
10
9
13

8
6
10
12
3
36
70
5
1
4

11
19
6
4
5
16
15
16
16

8
10
2
2
2
5
16
27
8

11
3
22
24
26
21
46
15
13
39
16

Military ...........................................................................................

143

22

11

1
Based on the 1990 Occupational Classification System developed by the
Bureau of the Census.
2
The figure shown is the percent of the total fatalities for that occupational
group.
3
Highway includes deaths to vehicle occupants resulting from traffic incidents that occur on the public roadway, shoulder, or surrounding area. It excludes incidents occurring entirely off the roadway, such as in parking lots and on
farms; incidents involving trains; and deaths to pedestrians or other
nonpassengers.
4
The rate represents the number of fatal occupational injuries per 100,000
employed workers and was calculated as follows: (N/W) x 100,000, where N =
the number of fatal work injuries, and W = the number of employed workers. The
employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of age and older,

plus resident armed forces, from the BLS Current Population Survey, 1995.
There were 26 fatally injured workers under the age of 16 that were not
included in the rate calculations to maintain consistency with the CPS employment.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown
separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. There
were 64 fatalities for which there was insufficient information to determine an
occupation classification. Dashes indicate less than 0.5 percent or data that
are not available or that do not meet publication criteria.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in cooperation with State and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries.

Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

38

farm occupations, such as farm

operator and manager, farm supervisor, and farm worker, accounted for
almost 10 percent of the fatal work
injury total. Half of their deaths
occurred in vehicle-related incidents,
both on and off the highway.
Laborers also incurred large
numbers of fatal work injuries. Jobrelated fatalities to construction
laborers rose by 25 percent over
1994 totals and resulted mainly from
vehicle-related incidents and falls.
Job-related fatalities to other laborers
also resulted primarily from various
vehicle-related incidents. Workplace
homicide was the main cause of
death among sales supervisors and
proprietors.
Fatality rates. Occupations with
large numbers of worker fatalities
are not always those at highest risk.
For example, truckdrivers had the
highest number of fatal work injuries
in 1995, but several other occupational groups experienced higher
risks of fatal work injury. (See
charts 1 and 2.)
The number of workers killed in a
particular group, indicates the
magnitude of the problem for a given
employment group. Rates allow
comparison of fatality risk among
worker groups with varying levels of
exposure. (However, there is more
than one way to calculate fatality
rates that measure the incidence of
fatal work injuries for groups of
workers. An hours-based rate
measures the risk of fatality per
standardized length of exposure; an
employment-based rate measures the
risk for those employed during a
given period of time. The rates in
chart 2 are employment based.)
Five of the 10 occupations with
the highest fatality totals were also
among the occupations with the
highest rate of fatal work injury:
Airplane pilots, taxicab drivers,
construction laborers, truckdrivers,
and farm occupations. Of the 10
occupations with the highest fatality
rates in 1995, only 1, construction
laborers, showed an increase over

Chart 1. Occupations with large numbers of worker

fatalities and the leading event, 1995
Truck drivers
(Highway crash, jackknifing)

749

Farm occupations
(Vehicular)

579

Construction laborers
(Vehicular)

309

Supervisors, proprietors, sales

(Homicides)

212

Laborers, except construction

(Vehicular)

212

Police and detectives, public

(Homicides)

119

Electricians
(Electrocutions)

117

Cashiers
(Homicides)

116

Airplane pilots
(Air crash)

111

Taxicab drivers
(Homicides)

99

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

NOTE: Leading fatal event shown for each occupation.

NOTE: Leading fatal event for each occupation is shown in parentheses.

Chart 2. The rate of fatal injuries per 100,000

workers in "high-risk" occupations, 1995

Fishers
(n=48)

104

Timber cutters
(n=98)

101

Airplane pilots
(n=111)

97

Structural metal workers

(n=38)

64

Taxicab drivers
(n=99)

46

Construction laborers
(n=309)

39

Roofers
(n=60)

29

Electrical power installers repairs

(n=35)

28

Truckdrivers
(n=749)

26

Farm occupations
(n=579)

25

0
1

NOTE:

20

National
average = 5

40

60

80

100

120

The employment-based rates shown were calculated as follows:

NOTE: The employment-based rates shown were calculated as follows:

(N/W) x 100,000, where
N = the number of fatally injured workers in a particular group (for example, roofers) and,
W = the annual average number of workers employed in that group.
Employment data are from the 1995 Current Population Survey.

(N/W) x 100,000, where

N = the number of fatally injured workers in a particular group (for
example, roofers) and,
W = the annual average number of workers employed in that
group.
Employment data are from the 1995 Current Population Survey.

39 Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

last years fatality rate. Although

the rate for roofers remained the
same as the previous year, their total
number of fatal work injuries
increased slightly.

Industry highlights
The construction industry
accounted for 1 out of every 6 fatal
work injuries that occurred during
1995. (See table 3.) This industry,
along with government and finance,
insurance, and real estate were the
only ones that had increases in fatal
work injuries over their 1994 levels.
Retail trade had the largest decrease
in fatal work injuries; fatalities went
down 16 percent during 1995,
primarily as a result of the drop in
workplace homicides.
Industry divisions with large
numbers of fatalities relative to their
employment include agriculture,
forestry, and fishing; construction;
transportation and public utilities;
and mining.

Worker characteristics
Men accounted for about 91
percent of all fatal work injuries in
1995, but only 54 percent of the
employment total. (See table 4.)
The self-employed and workers 55
years old and over also had high
fatality rates relative to their
employment.

State

The events responsible for fatal

injuries varied among worker
groups, reflecting their occupations
and other characteristics. While
highway crashes were cited as the
most frequent fatal event for many of
the worker groups, homicides
accounted for the greatest portion of
worker deaths for the self-employed,
women, blacks, Asians and Pacific
Islanders, and Hispanics.
State highlights
In general, States that have the
largest number of persons employed
also reported the largest number of
work-related fatalities. Three of the
largest States accounted for onefourth of the total fatality count:
California (614), Texas (475), and
Florida (376). (See table 5.) A
States industry mix also must be
considered when evaluating its
occupational fatality profile, especially when large numbers of
workers are employed in relatively
dangerous industries, such as
agriculture, mining, and construction.
Eight States reported changes in
fatalities of 20 or more that also
represented a difference of at least 20
percent compared with 1994s totals.
Major disasters, such as the Oklahoma City bombing or an airline
crash, can cause substantial year-toyear fluctuations in occupational
fatality totals. (See table below.)

Numeric Percent
change change

1994

1995

Indiana
Iowa

195
74

156
54

-39
-20

-20
-27

Louisiana

187

139

-48

-26

Nebraska

83

54

-29

-35

Oklahoma

97

199

102

105

354
83

233
103

-121
20

-34
24

64

132

-32

-20

Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Virginia

Contributing
factor
Airline crash in 1994
Fewer vehicular
incidents
Fewer transport-related
incidents
Fewer multiple fatality
incidents
Federal building
bombing in 1995
Airline crash in 1994
Increase in transportrelated incidents
Fewer highway
fatalities

Technical Notes
Definitions
For a fatality to be included in the
census, the decedent must have been
employed (that is working for pay,
compensation, or profit) at the time
of the event, engaged in a legal work
activity, or present at the site of the
incident as a requirement of his or
her job. These criteria are generally
broader than those used by Federal
and State agencies administering
specific laws and regulations.
(Fatalities that occur during a
persons commute to or from work
are excluded from the census
counts.)
Data presented in this release
include deaths occurring in 1995
that resulted from traumatic occupational injuries. An injury is defined
as any intentional or unintentional
wound or damage to the body
resulting from acute exposure to
energy, such as heat or electricity, or
kinetic energy from a crash; or from
the absence of such essentials as heat
or oxygen caused by a specific event,
incident, or series of events within a
single workday or shift. Included
are open wounds, intracranial and
internal injuries, heatstroke, hypothermia, asphyxiation, acute poisoning
resulting from a short-term exposure
limited to the workers shift, suicides
and homicides, and work injuries
listed as underlying or contributory
causes of death.
Information on work-related fatal
illnesses are not reported in the BLS
census and are excluded from the
attached tables because the latency
period of many occupational
illnesses and the difficulty of linking
illnesses to work makes identification of a universe problematic.
Partial information on fatal occupational illnesses, compiled separately,
is available for 1991-1993 in BLS
Report 891.
Measurement techniques and
limitations
Data for the Census of Fatal
Occupational Injuries are compiled

Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

40

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries and employment by industry, 1995

Fatalities
Industry

SIC
code1

1994
(revised)

Employment2
(in thousands)

1995

Rate3

Number

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total ..........................................................................................

6,632

6,210

100

126,248

100

Private industry .........................................................................

5,959

5,438

88

106,522

84

Agriculture, forestry and fishing ................................................

Agricultural production - crops ...................................................
Agricultural production - livestock ..............................................
Agricultural services ..................................................................

01
02
07

852
443
172
163

793
362
161
155

13
6
3
3

3,515
1,042
1,301
1,082

3
1
1
1

22
34
12
14

Mining ...........................................................................................
Coal mining................................................................................
Oil and gas extraction ................................................................

12
13

180
41
99

156
43
77

3
1
1

625
114
336

1
-

25
38
23

Construction ................................................................................
General building contractors ......................................................
Heavy construction, except building ..........................................
Special trades contractors .........................................................

15
16
17

1,028
190
246
592

1,048
175
245
613

17
3
4
10

7,153
-

6
-

15
-

Manufacturing ..............................................................................
Food and kindred products ........................................................
Lumber and wood products .......................................................

20
24

789
79
199

702
74
182

11
1
3

20,389
1,700
815

16
1
1

3
4
22

Transportation and public utilities .............................................

Local and interurban passenger transportation .........................
Trucking and warehousing .........................................................
Transportation by air ..................................................................
Electric, gas, and sanitary services ...........................................

41
42
45
49

949
114
505
99
89

880
116
462
75
91

14
2
7
1
1

7,138
523
2,323
792
1,094

6
2
1
1

12
22
20
9
8

271

254

4,973

808
237
123
184

675
188
122
164

11
3
2
3

20,999
3,428
2,087
6,266

17
3
2
5

3
5
6
3

113

124

7,761

73
75

853
255
91

737
211
114

12
3
2

33,970
5,282
1,454

27
4
1

2
4
8

9221

673
211
114
338
117

772
299
124
338
110

12
5
2
5
2

19,726
4,790
5,185
9,751
-

16
4
4
8
-

4
6
2
3
-

Wholesale trade ...........................................................................

Retail trade ...................................................................................
Food stores ...............................................................................
Automotive dealers and service stations ...................................
Eating and drinking places ........................................................

54
55
58

Finance, insurance, and real estate ...........................................

Services .......................................................................................
Business services .....................................................................
Automotive repair, services, and parking ...................................
4
Government .................................................................................
Federal (including resident armed forces) .....................................
State .............................................................................................
Local. ............................................................................................
Police protection ........................................................................

Standard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987 Edition.

The employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of
age and older, plus resident armed forces, from the BLS Current Population
Survey, 1995.
3
The rate represents the number of fatal occupational injuries per 100,000
employed workers and was calculated as follows: (N/W) x 100,000, where N =
the number of fatal work injuries, and W = the number of employed workers.
The employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of age and
older, plus resident armed forces, from the BLS Current Population Survey, 1995.
There were 26 fatally injured workers under the age of 16 that were not included
in the rate calculations to maintain consistency with the CPS employment.
2

41 Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

4
Includes fatalities to workers employed by governmental organizations
regardless of industry.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown
separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. There
were 69 fatalities for which there was insufficient information to determine a
specific industry classification, though a distinction between private sector
and government was made for each. Dashes indicate less than 0.5 percent
or data that are not available or that do not meet publlication criteria.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in cooperation with State and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

Table 4. Fatal occupational injuries and employment by selected worker characteristics, 1995
Employment (in
thousands)1

Fatalities
Characteristics

Most frequent event2

(percent of total)

Rate3

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

6,210

100

126,248

100

Highway (21 percent)

5,024
1,186

81
19

115,610
10,638

92
8

Highway (24)
Homicide (17)/Nonhighway(16)

4
11

Men ..............................................................
Women .........................................................
Age5

5,676
534

91
9

68,556
57,692

54
46

Highway (19)
Homicide (46)

8
1

Under 16 years ............................................

16 to 17 years ..............................................
18 to 19 years ..............................................
20 to 24 years ..............................................
25 to 34 years ..............................................
35 to 44 years ..............................................
45 to 54 years ..............................................
55 to 64 years ..............................................
65 years and over ........................................

26
40
128
484
1,395
1,555
1,242
811
514

1
2
8
22
25
20
13
8

2,574
3,934
12,868
32,880
34,474
24,213
11,436
3,666

2
3
10
26
27
19
9
3

Highway (19)

(18)

(26)

(25)

(21)

(20)
(22)
(23)
Nonhighway(18)/Highway(17)

2
3
4
4
5
5
7
14

5,061
689
161
27
272

82
11
3
4

107,533
13,537
-

85
11
-

Highway (22)
Homicide (30)
Homicide (56)
Highway (22)

(26)

5
5
-

610

10

11,208

Homicide (21)

Total ..........................................................
Employee status
Wage and salary workers ............................
Self-employed 4..............................................
Sex

Race
White ............................................................
Black ............................................................
Asian or Pacific Islander ..............................
American Indian, Aleut, Eskimo ...................
Other or unspecified .....................................
Hispanic origin
6

Hispanic .......................................................

1
The employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of
age and older, plus resident armed forces, from the BLS Current Population Survey, 1995.
2
Highway includes deaths to vehicle occupants resulting from traffic incidents that occur on the public roadway, shoulder, or surrounding area. It excludes incidents occurring entirely off the roadway, such as in parking lots and
on farms. Nonhighway includes transport-related deaths of vehicle occupants
that occur or originate entirely off the roadway. Incidents involving trains and
deaths to pedestrians or other nonpassengers are excluded from both categories.
3
The rate represents the number of fatal occupational injuries per 100,000
employed workers and was calculated as follows: (N/W) x 100,000, where N =
the number of fatal work injuries, and W = the number of employed workers. The
employment is an annual average of employed civilians 16 years of age and
older, plus resident armed forces, from the BLS Current Population Survey, 1995.

There were 26 fatally injured workers under the age of 16 that were not
included in the rate calculations to maintain consistency with the CPS employment.
4
Includes paid and unpaid family workers, and may include owners of
incorporated businesses, or members of partnerships.
5
There were 15 fatalities for which age was not available.
6
Persons identified as Hispanic may be of any race. Hispanic employment does not include resident armed forces.
NOTE: Totals may include subcategories not shown separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding. Dashes indicate less
than 0.5 percent or data that are not available or data that do not meet
publication criteria.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in
cooperation with state and federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries.

Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

42

Table 5. Fatal occupational injuries by State and event or exposure, 1995

Total fatalities1

State of injury

Event or exposure2 (percent of State total for 1995)

Contact
Assaults
with
Transporand
objects
tation
violent
and
incidents3 acts4
equipment

Exposure
to
Fires
harmful
and
substances explosions
or
environments

1994
(revised)

1995

Total .............................................................................
Alabama ..........................................................................
Alaska .............................................................................
Arizona ............................................................................
Arkansas .........................................................................
California .........................................................................
Colorado ..........................................................................
Connecticut .....................................................................
Delaware .........................................................................
District of Columbia .........................................................
Florida .............................................................................

6,632
153
60
79
85
639
120
35
15
21
358

6,210
150
78
86
91
614
112
32
12
16
376

41
34
86
55
59
41
43
41
33
39

20
21
22
8
30
21
25
69
21

15
17
5
9
16
10
14
19
33
10

10
10
4
8
11
15

10
15
6
9
7
9
12

3
3
3
2

Georgia ...........................................................................
Hawaii ..............................................................................
Idaho ...............................................................................
Illinois ..............................................................................
Indiana .............................................................................
Iowa .................................................................................
Kansas ............................................................................
Kentucky .........................................................................
Louisiana .........................................................................
Maine ..............................................................................

249
21
50
247
195
74
106
158
187
22

237
24
53
249
156
54
95
140
139
18

46
29
60
31
41
39
46
59
37
56

20
33
13
17
15
15
6
17
-

11
8
15
15
31
15
16
19
22

13
18
11
11
9
4
13
-

8
17
8
13
13
11
11
10
10
-

2
5
5
4
4
3
-

Maryland .........................................................................
Massachusetts ................................................................
Michigan ..........................................................................
Minnesota ........................................................................
Mississippi .......................................................................
Missouri ...........................................................................
Montana ..........................................................................
Nebraska .........................................................................
Nevada ............................................................................
New Hampshire ...............................................................

80
74
180
82
126
155
50
83
41
14

86
65
149
84
128
125
34
54
51
12

29
34
38
39
48
34
44
43
41
33

36
17
20
12
21
13
11
24
-

13
17
20
25
13
23
18
24
16
-

9
23
9
11
7
14
12
17
12
-

7
6
11
10
7
11
18
-

6
4
3
-

New Jersey .....................................................................

New Mexico .....................................................................
New York (except N.Y.C.) .................................................
New York City ..................................................................
North Carolina .................................................................
North Dakota ...................................................................
Ohio .................................................................................
Oklahoma ........................................................................
Oregon ............................................................................
Pennsylvania ...................................................................

114
54
180
184
226
21
209
97
80
354

118
58
158
144
187
28
186
199
73
233

35
52
40
11
46
54
51
15
53
40

23
9
16
63
17
13
65
7
16

14
16
17
6
16
21
10
8
22
14

12
10
11
12
11
10
2
11
13

10
9
11
6
9
12
7
5
9

6
4
4
4
8

Rhode Island ...................................................................

South Carolina .................................................................
South Dakota ...................................................................
Tennessee .......................................................................
Texas ...............................................................................
Utah .................................................................................
Vermont ...........................................................................
Virginia ............................................................................
Washington .....................................................................
West Virginia ...................................................................
Wisconsin ........................................................................
Wyoming .........................................................................

12
83
31
170
497
66
8
164
118
61
109
35

10
103
26
179
475
51
16
132
109
56
117
32

43
35
41
42
49
69
45
42
43
43
62

14
11
18
14
15
13
7
15
-

17
27
27
14
12
25
12
16
32
21
16

10
15
8
12
10
14
12
5
-

13
23
10
10
14
10
9
11
11
12

3
4
3
6
3
-

1
Includes other events and exposures such as bodily reaction, in addition
to those shown separately.
2
Based on the 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and Illness Classification Structures.
3
Includes highway, nonhighway, air, water, and rail fatalities.
4
Includes violence by persons, self inflicted injury, and assaults by animals.

43 Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

Falls

NOTE: Percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding and because of dashes which indicate less than 0.5 percent or data that are not
available or that do not meet publication criteria.
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in cooperation with State and Federal Agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.

from various Federal, State, and

local administrative sources
including death certificates, workers
compensation reports and claims,
reports to various regulatory agencies, medical examiner reports, and
police reportsas well as news
reports. Multiple sources are used
because studies have shown that no
single source captures all job-related
fatalities. Source documents are
matched so that each fatality is
counted only once. To ensure that a
fatality occurred while the decedent
was at work, information is verified
from two or more independent
source documents, or from a source
document and a follow-up questionnaire. Approximately 30 data
elements are collected, coded, and
tabulated, including information
about the worker, the fatal incident,
and the machinery or equipment
involved.
Identification and verification of
work-related fatalities. Because
some State laws and regulations
prohibit enumerators from contacting the next-of-kin, it was not
possible to independently verify
work relationship (whether a fatality
is job related) for 306 fatal work
injuries in 1995; however, the
information on the initiating source
document for these cases was
sufficient to determine that the
incident was likely to be job-related.
Data for these fatalities, which
primarily affected self-employed
workers, are included in the Census
of Fatal Occupational Injuries
counts. An additional 67 fatalities
submitted by States were not
included because the initiating
source document had insufficient
information to determine work
relationship, which could not be
verified by either an independent
source document or a follow-up
questionnaire.
States may identify additional
fatal work injuries after data
collection close-out for a reference
year. In addition, other fatalities
excluded from the published count

because of insufficient information

to determine work relationship may
be subsequently verified as work
related. States have up to 1 year to
update their initial published counts.
This procedure ensures that fatality
data are disseminated as quickly as
possible and that no legitimate case
is excluded from the counts.
Experimental fatality rates. Both
absolute numbers (or frequencies)
and rates are useful when examining
fatal work injuries for research or
prevention efforts. Frequency
indicates how many fatal work
injuries occurred; rate indicates the
relative danger.
The relative danger of an occupation or industry group can be shown
by combining frequency data with
either employment or hours data to
calculate a rate. An hours-based rate
indicates the relative danger using
time of exposure. An employmentbased rate indicates the relative
danger using the number of employed workers.
Employment-based fatality rates
measure the incidence of fatal injury
for all workers in the group regardless of exposure time. However, it
does not take into consideration that
part-time workers may have fewer
fatal work injuries because they
spend less time in the work environment. An hours-based fatality rate
accounts for different time of
exposure levels among workers.
Hours-based measurements are
especially useful for industry and
occupation comparisons, when the
number of workers can vary greatly
among industry or occupation
groups for a given period.
Work fatality counts from the
Bureaus Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) can be
combined with employment or hours
at work data to produce a fatal work
injury rate. Since hours at work and
employment data are not collected by
CFOI, experimental fatality rates
were calculated using estimates of
employed civilian workers (aged 16
and older) from the Current Popula-

tion Survey (CPS). In addition,

resident military figures, derived
from resident and civilian population
data from the Bureau of the Census,
were added to the CPS employment
figures to maintain consistency with
the CFOI fatality data.
The fatality rates in tables 2-4
relate the total number of workplace
deaths in 1995 to the annual average
number of workers facing that risk.
These measurements are developmental and do not reflect the
movement of persons into and out of
the labor force, the length of their
work week or work year, or the effect
of multiple jobholders.
The fatality rates presented in the
tables were calculated as follows:
(N / W) x 100,000,
where:
N = the number of fatally injured
workers
W = the number of employed workers
The ratio N/W is multiplied by
100,000; the rate is expressed as a
whole number and represents the
number of fatal work injuries per
100,000 workers.
There were 6,210 total work fatalities
in 1995 and there were 126,248,000
employed workers (124,900,000
employed civilian workers age 16
and older, and 1,348,000 resident
military personnel).
As N must be adjusted to
maintain consistency with W, the
26 fatally injured workers under age
16 are not included in the rate
calculation. (Adjustments of N
are not reflected in the Number
and Percent columns of the tables,
which include all fatalities regardless of age.)
N = 6,210 - 26 = 6,184
W = 126,248,000
Therefore,
(6,184 / 126,248,000) x 100,000 = 5,
or
5 fatalities per 100,000 workers.

Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

44

The CPS employment data used

to calculate rates are estimates that
are based upon a sample of persons
employed rather than a complete
count. Therefore, the employment
estimates and fatality rates have
sampling errors; that is, they may
differ from figures that would have
been obtained if it had been possible
to take a complete census of employed persons. See Explanatory
Notes and Estimates of Error in the
January 1996 Employment and
Earnings for an explanation of CPS
sampling and estimation methodology, and standard error computations. The relative standard errors of
the CPS employment estimates can
be used to approximate confidence
ranges for the fatality rates.
Federal/State agency coverage.
The Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries includes data for all fatal
work injuries, whether they are
covered by the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA)
or other Federal or State agencies or
are outside the scope of regulatory
coverage. Thus, any comparison
between the BLS census counts and
those released by other agencies
should take into account the
different coverage requirements and
definitions being used.
Several Federal and State
agencies have jurisdiction over
workplace safety and health. OSHA
and affiliated agencies in States with

approved safety programs cover the

largest portion of Americas workers.
However, injuries and illnesses
occurring in several other industries, such as coal, metal, and
nonmetal mining, and water, rail,
and air transportation, are excluded from OSHA coverage
because they are covered by other
Federal Agencies, such as the
Mine Safety and Health Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, the
Federal Railroad Administration,
and the Federal Aviation Administration. Fatalities occurring in
activities regulated by Federal
Agencies other than OSHA
accounted for about 20 percent of
the fatal work injuries for 1995.
Fatalities occurring among
several other groups of workers are
generally not covered by any Federal
or State agencies. These groups
include self-employed and unpaid
family workers, which accounted for
about 19 percent of the fatalities;
laborers on small farms, accounting
for about 2 percent of the fatalities;
and State and local government
employees in States without OSHAapproved safety programs, which
account for about 4 percent. (Approximately one-half of the States
have approved OSHA safety programs, which cover State and local
government employees.)
The Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries, part of the BLS safety and
health statistics program, provides

the most complete count of fatal

work injuries available because its
use of diverse State and Federal data
sources. This is the fourth year that
the fatality census has been conducted in all 50 states and the
District of Columbia. The BLS
fatality census is a Federal/State
cooperative venture in which costs
are shared equally. Additional Statespecific data are available from the
State agencies participating with
BLS in the census program. For a
list of participating agencies and
their telephone numbers, contact the
Office of Safety, Health and Working
Conditions at (202) 606-6175.
Since 1972, this office also has
collected data on nonfatal injuries
and illnesses through its Survey of
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. This survey profiles
worker and case characteristics of
nonfatal workplace injuries and
illnesses resulting in lost worktime
in addition to presenting frequency
counts and incidence rates by
industry. Copies of the 1994 news
release are available from BLS by
calling 202-606-6304. Incidence
rates for 1995 by industry will be
published in December 1996.
Information on 1995 worker and
case characteristics will be published
in April 1997. For additional
occupational safety and health data,
access the BLS World Wide Web
Internet site: http://www.bls.gov/
oshhome.htm

Endnotes
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: BLS would
like to thank the participating States for their
efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive,
and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS
also appreciates the efforts of all Federal, State,
local, and private sector agencies that submitted source documents used to identify fatal
work injuries. Among these agencies are the
Occupational Safety and Health Administra-

tion; the National Transportation Safety

Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety
and Health Administration; the Department of
Defense; the Employment Standards Administration, Federal Employees Compensation
and Longshore and Harbor Workers divisions;
the Department of Energy; the National Association of Chiefs of Police; State vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examin-

45 Compensation and Working Conditions September 1996

ers; State departments of health, labor, and industries, and workers compensation agencies;
State and local police departments; and State
farm bureaus.
1
A full summary of job-related highway fatalities is presented on pp. 57-61 of this issue.
2
For more information on how falls are
classified, see Occupational Injury and Illness
Classification Manual, 1992.