Bureau of Labor Statistics
General Information: (312) 353-1880 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Media Contact: Paul LaPorte Tuesday, December 6,2005 Fax-on-Demand Document No. 9986 http://www.bls.gov/ro5 INDIANA WORKPLACE FATALITIES, 2004 Fatal work injuries totaled 153 in 2004 for Indiana, an increase of 16 percent from 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner, Jay A. Mousa noted that this year's fatality count, though higher than in 2002 and 2003, was in-line with the number of fatal work injuries that occurred during 2000 and 2001. Most workplace fatalities in the State in 2004 were the result of highway crashes (38), falls to a lower level (21), nonhighway transportation incidents, such as those that might occur on a farm or industrial premises, (16), struck by objects (13), and homicides (13). Taken together, these five events 1/ accounted for almost two-thirds of the workplace fatalities in Indiana. Highway crashes accounted for more on-the-job fatalities than any other event in both Indiana and the nation. The number of fatal injuries from highway crashes in the State was little different from its 2003 level of 40. During the 13 years this census has been conducted, the number of highway crashes in Indiana has ranged from 25 to 56. (See table A.) Work-related deaths due to highway crashes accounted for about one of every four fatalities in Indiana as well as the nation. The number of fatalities resulting from falls to a lower level increased by 7 in 2004, the same level of increase as in the previous year. The 21 workplace fatalities in 2004 due to falls to a lower level were the most for this event since the series began in 1992. Work-related deaths due to falls to a lower level accounted for a similar share of the fatalities in both Indiana and the nation, at 14 and 13 percent, respectively. Fatalities in Indiana resulting from nonhighway transportation accidents (excluding rail, air, and water) were little changed from their 2003 level. Work-related deaths due to nonhighway incidents in 2004 accounted for 10 percent of work- related deaths in the State; nationwide, this event accounted for 6 percent of the total. The number of workplace homicides in Indiana has been edging down over the last five years, from 19 in 2000 to 13 in 2004. The State's fatality count in 2004 was the second lowest level recorded since the census began in 1992. Homicides accounted for 8 percent of fatal work injuries in Indiana and 10 percent nationwide. Thirteen workers in Indiana were fatally injured after being struck by an object in 2004, up eight over the year. However, the level reported in 2003, at 5, was the lowest on record; interestingly, this followed the highest number recorded, 23 in 2002. Fatal work injuries from being struck by an object accounted for 8 percent of Indiana's and 10 percent of the United States' total in 2004. Other work-related fatalities in Indiana included being caught in or compressed by equipment or objects (8), suicides (8, and railway accidents (7) in 2004. (See table 1.) Table A. Fatal occupational injuries in Indiana by selected event groups, 1992-2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Total | | Falls to | Nonhighway | | Struck Year |fatali- |Highway crashes| lower level |transportation| Homicides | by object | ties |--------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |Number|Percent |Number|Percent|Number|Percent|Number|Percent|Number|Percent ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1992 | 148 | 25 17 | 3 2 | 8 5 | 15 10 | 14 9 1993 | 136 | 36 26 | 8 6 | 11 8 | 11 8 | 6 4 1994 | 195 | 49 25 | 11 6 | 8 4 | 18 9 | 8 4 1995 | 156 | 41 26 | 16 10 | 7 4 | 16 10 | 17 11 1996 | 143 | 38 27 | 14 10 | 13 9 | 21 15 | 15 10 1997 | 190 | 45 24 | 18 9 | 13 7 | 31 16 | 19 10 1998 | 155 | 51 33 | 11 7 | 15 10 | 22 14 | 8 5 1999 | 171 | 56 33 | 19 11 | 13 8 | 13 8 | 16 9 2000 | 159 | 46 29 | 14 9 | 9 6 | 19 12 | 19 12 2001 | 152 | 41 27 | 10 7 | 12 8 | 17 11 | 17 11 2002 | 136 | 26 19 | 7 5 | 8 6 | 15 11 | 23 17 2003 | 132 | 40 30 | 14 11 | 15 11 | 14 11 | 5 4 2004 | 153 | 38 25 | 21 14 | 16 10 | 13 8 | 13 8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nationwide, a total of 5,703 fatal work injuries were reported in 2004, an increase of 2 percent from the revised total of 5,575 fatalities reported for 2003. Despite the increase, the total for 2004 was the third lowest annual count recorded by the fatality census, which has been conducted yearly since 1992. (See table B.) Fatal highway crashes were up slightly in 2004 after declining the two previous years. The 1,374 deaths from highway crashes in 2004 represented about one out of every four fatal work injuries and continued to be the leading cause of on-the-job fatalities. Fatalities resulting from both falls to a lower level and being struck by an object represented the highest annual totals ever reported by the fatality census for these events. The number of work-related deaths from falls to a lower level increased from 604 in 2003 to 732 in 2004, while workplace fatalities resulting from being struck by an object were up from 531 in 2003 to 596 in 2004. The number of workplace homicides recorded in the U.S. in 2004 dropped sharply from the number reported in 2003. The 551 workplace homicides in 2004 represented a 13-percent decline over the year and was the lowest annual total yet recorded by the fatality census. Overall, workplace homicides were down 49 percent from the high of 1,080 recorded in 1994 (excluding the 2,886 work-related homicides resulting from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001). Table B. Fatal occupational injuries in the United States by selected event groups, 1992-2004 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Total | | Falls to | Struck | Year |fatali- |Highway crashes| lower level | by object | Homicides | ties |------------------------------------------------------------ | |Number|Percent |Number|Percent|Number|Percent|Number|Percent ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1992 | 6,217 |1,158 19 | 507 8 | 557 9 |1,044 17 1993 | 6,331 |1,242 20 | 534 8 | 565 9 |1,074 17 1994 | 6,632 |1,343 20 | 580 9 | 591 9 |1,080 16 1995 | 6,275 |1,346 21 | 578 9 | 547 9 |1,036 17 1996 | 6,202 |1,346 22 | 610 10 | 582 9 | 927 15 1997 | 6,238 |1,393 22 | 653 10 | 579 9 | 860 14 1998 | 6,055 |1,442 24 | 625 10 | 520 9 | 714 12 1999 | 6,054 |1,496 25 | 634 10 | 585 10 | 651 11 2000 | 5,920 |1,365 23 | 659 11 | 571 10 | 677 11 2001 | 5,915 |1,409 24 | 700 12 | 553 9 | 643 11 2002 | 5,534 |1,373 25 | 638 12 | 505 9 | 609 11 2003 | 5,575 |1,353 24 | 604 11 | 531 10 | 632 11 2004 | 5,703 |1,374 24 | 732 13 | 596 10 | 551 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Totals for 2001 exclude fatalities due to the events of September 11, 2001 which claimed the lives of 2,886 persons in work status. 2/ The BLS news release issued September 22, 2004, reported a total of 5,559 fatal work injuries for calendar year 2003. Since then, an additional 16 job-related fatalities were identified, bringing the total job-related fatality count for 2003 to 5,575. Key characteristics of workplace fatalities in Indiana in 2004: - Men accounted for 93 percent of the work-related fatalities in the State with 143 deaths. Transportation incidents, which include highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail, accounted for over two-fifths of these fatal injuries. Among women, 5 of the 10 deaths resulted from transportation incidents and 4 from assaults and violent acts. (See table 2.) - In Indiana, 86 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were non-Hispanic whites (132 fatal work injuries), while non-Hispanic blacks (11) and Hispanics (7) made up 7 and 5 percent, respectively. - Workers 25-54 years old-the prime working age group-accounted for 56 percent of the State's work-related fatalities in 2004; 40 percent were 55 years or older. - Seventy-three percent of workers killed on-the-job in Indiana worked for wages and salaries, the rest were self-employed. - The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry had the largest number of fatalities (30) followed by transportation and warehousing (27). In both industries, transportation incidents were the primary cause of the fatalities. There were 21 fatal injuries in the construction industry, 8 of which were from falls. (See table 3.) - From an occupational perspective, drivers of heavy trucks and tractor-trailers suffered the most work-related deaths (32), followed by managers of farms and ranches (23). In both cases, transportation incidents were responsible for most of the fatal injuries. (See table 4.) 1/ Fatal events are categorized into several major groupings including transportation incidents, assaults and violent acts, and falls. These major groups are further broken down into more detailed groups. For example, transportation incidents includes highway incidents and aircraft incidents; assaults and violent acts includes homicides and suicides; and falls includes falls to a lower level (as from a roof or ladder) and falls on the same level (as from grease on a floor or ice on a sidewalk). Additional data available Additional Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are available from the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/iif. Data tables for 2004 are available for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and selected metropolitan areas. TECHNICAL NOTES Background of the program The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, provides a complete count of fatal work injuries available. The program uses diverse state and federal data sources to identify, verify, and profile fatal work injuries. Information about each workplace fatality (occupation and other worker characteristics, equipment being used, and circumstances of the event) is obtained by cross- referencing source documents, such as death certificates, workers' compensation records, and reports to federal and state agencies. This method assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible. 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 person's commute to or from work are excluded from the census counts.) Data presented in this release include deaths occurring in 2004 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, 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 poisonings resulting from short-term exposures limited to the worker's shift, suicides and homicides, and work injuries listed as underlying or contributory causes of death. Information on work-related fatal illnesses is not reported in the BLS census and is excluded from the attached tables because the latency period of many occupational illnesses and the difficulty of linking illnesses to work exposures make identification of a universe problematic. Measurement techniques and limitations Data for the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries are compiled 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 reports-as well as news and other non-governmental reports. Diverse 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. Federal/state agency coverage The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries includes data for all fatal work injuries, whether the decedent was working in a job covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or other federal or state agencies or is outside the scope of regulatory coverage. Thus, any comparison between the BLS fatality census counts and those released by other agencies should take into account the different coverage requirements and definitions being used by each agency. 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 the nation's workers. However, injuries and illnesses occurring in certain industries or activities, such as coal, metal, and nonmetal mining and highway, 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 and various agencies within the Department of Transportation. 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 20 percent of the nation's fatalities; laborers on small farms, accounting for about 1 percent; and state and local government employees in states without OSHA-approved safety programs, which accounted for about 4 percent. (Approximately one-half of the states have approved OSHA safety programs, which cover state and local government employees). Acknowledgments BLS thanks the Indiana Department of Labor for its 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 Administration; the National Transportation Safety Board; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Mine Safety and Health Administration; the Employment Standards Administration (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' divisions); the Department of Energy; state vital statistics registrars, coroners, and medical examiners; state departments of health, labor and industries and workers' compensation agencies; state and local police departments; and state farm bureaus. ******************************************************************** Tables 1-4 of this news release are available at http://www.bls.gov/ro5/cfoiin.pdf. In addition, detailed statistics on fatal occupational injuries in Indiana can be obtained from tables at http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/tgs/2004/iiffi18.htm. ******************************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLS Fax-on-Demand - Chicago (312) 353-1880 Document No. 9986 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last Modified Date: January 11, 2006
