Bureau of Labor Statistics
General Information: (312) 353-1880 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Media Contact: Paul LaPorte Tuesday, October 30, 2007
(312) 353-1138
http://www.bls.gov/ro5 Data Tables NEBRASKA WORKPLACE FATALITIES, 2006 Fatal work injuries totaled 57 in 2006 for Nebraska, an increase of 21 from the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Jay A. Mousa noted that this year's count followed a series low of 36 work-related deaths in 2005. (See table A.) The most frequent types of workplace fatalities in 2006 were highway crashes (11), struck by an object (9), and caught in or compressed by equipment or objects (7); these 3 types of events 1/ accounted for about half of all work-related deaths in the State. (The fatality census has been conducted annually since 1992). Highway incidents (referred to here as highway crashes, but including non-collision incidents as well) led all events as the most frequent type of on-the-job fatality for both the nation and the State. The number of fatal injuries from highway crashes in Nebraska was about the same as in 2004 and 2005. During the 15 years that the fatality census has been conducted, the number of on-the-job deaths resulting from highway crashes in the State has ranged from 9 to 32. (See table A.) Work-related deaths due to highway crashes accounted for 19 percent of Nebraska's fatalities in 2006 and 23 percent of the nation's. The nine workplace deaths due to being struck by an object accounted for 16 percent of the State's total fatality count in 2006. The number of workplace fatalities resulting from this event has ranged from a low of 5 to high of 11 since the fatality census's inception in 1992. Nationally, 10 percent of all workplace deaths were attributed to this event in 2006. Being caught in or compressed by equipment or objects resulted in seven work-related fatalities in the State. The 2006 count equaled 1996 for the highest single-year total on record. Nationwide, incidents of workers being caught in or compressed by equipment or objects accounted for 5 percent of all workplace deaths. Other fatal events in the State in 2006 included falls to a lower level (5), electrocutions (5), and homicides (4). Table A. Fatal occupational injuries in Nebraska by selected event groups, 1992-2006 --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | Caught in or Year | | Highway | Struck | compressed by | Total | crashes | by object | equipment or objects | fatali- |--------------------------------------------------- | ties |Number|Percent|Number|Percent| Number|Percent --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1992 43 9 21 8 19 -- -- 1993 78 19 24 11 14 3 4 1994 83 9 11 8 10 3 4 1995 54 10 19 8 15 -- -- 1996 56 11 20 7 13 7 13 1997 46 9 20 5 11 -- -- 1998 56 18 32 8 14 -- -- 1999 66 17 26 9 14 3 5 2000 59 22 37 6 10 -- -- 2001 57 26 46 6 11 3 5 2002 83 32 39 8 10 4 5 2003 51 20 39 9 18 -- -- 2004 46 11 24 -- -- -- -- 2005 36 10 28 7 19 -- -- 2006 57 11 19 9 16 7 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Dashes indicate no data reported or data do not meet publication criteria. Nationwide, a total of 5,703 fatal work injuries were reported in 2006, down slightly from the revised total of 5,734 fatal work injuries recorded in 2005. The count for 2006 was the third lowest annual total recorded by the fatality census, which has been conducted yearly since 1992. (See table B.) The 1,329 fatal highway crashes in 2006 was the lowest annual total since 1993. Highway crashes in 2006 accounted for nearly one out of every four fatal work injuries and continued to lead all other events in the frequency of on-the-job fatalities. Fatal work injuries involving falls to a lower level increased 10 percent in 2006 after a sharp decrease in 2005. The 2006 total of 728 fatal falls to a lower level was the second highest since the fatality census began. The number of workers who were fatally injured from being struck by objects was lower in 2006, after increasing for the last three years. The 583 fatalities resulting from being struck by objects in 2006 represented a 4 percent decline from the 2005 total. Workplace homicides decreased 9 percent to 516 in 2006, the lowest annual total ever reported by the fatality census. Overall, workplace homicides have decreased more than 50 percent from the series high in 1994. Table B. Fatal occupational injuries in the United States by selected event groups, 1992-2006 --------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | Caught in or Year | | Struck by | Highway | compressed by | Total | by object | crashes | equipment or objects | fatali- |--------------------------------------------------- | ties |Number|Percent|Number|Percent| Number|Percent --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1992 6,217 557 9 1,158 19 316 5 1993 6,331 565 9 1,242 20 311 5 1994 6,632 591 9 1,343 20 280 4 1995 6,275 547 9 1,346 21 255 4 1996 6,202 582 9 1,346 22 285 5 1997 6,238 579 9 1,393 22 320 5 1998 6,055 520 9 1,442 24 266 4 1999 6,054 585 10 1,496 25 302 5 2000 5,920 571 10 1,365 23 294 5 2001 1/ 5,915 553 9 1,409 24 266 4 2002 5,534 505 9 1,373 25 231 4 2003 5,575 531 10 1,353 24 238 4 2004 5,764 602 10 1,398 24 269 5 2005 2/ 5,734 607 11 1,437 25 278 5 2006 5,703 583 10 1,329 23 281 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 August 10, 2006, reported a total of 5,702 fatal work injuries for calendar year 2005. Since then, an additional 32 job-related fatalities were identified, bringing the total job-related fatality count for 2005 to 5,734. Key characteristics of workplace fatalities in Nebraska in 2006: - Men accounted for 95 percent of the work-related fatalities in the State with 54 deaths. Contact with objects and equipment and transportation incidents accounted for almost two-thirds of these fatal injuries. Three women were fatally injured on the job in 2006. - In Nebraska, 91 percent, or 52, of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics. - Workers 25-54 years old-the prime working age group-accounted for 46 percent of the State's work-related fatalities in 2006; 51 percent were 55 years or older. Nationally, workers 55 and over accounted for 27 percent of the fatally injured. - Fifty-eight percent of workers killed on-the-job in Nebraska worked for wages and salaries; the rest were self-employed. The most frequent fatal events for both groups of workers were transportation incidents and contact with objects and equipment. - The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry sector had the largest number of fatalities (21) followed by construction (7). In agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, the most frequent types of fatal events were contact with objects and equipment (13) and transportation incidents (4). Transportation incidents also accounted for three out of the seven worker deaths in construction. - Workers in management occupations led all other occupational groups with 19 workplace fatalities. Managers of farms and ranches accounted for 15 of the deaths in this occupational group. Workers with jobs in transportation and material moving, and construction and extraction suffered nine and seven fatalities, respectively. Additional data available Additional Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are available from the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm. Data tables for 2006 are available for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and selected metropolitan areas. Detailed data may be accessed through the online query system located at http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/outside.jsp?survey=fi. For additional information or assistance, please contact the Midwest Information Office in Chicago at (312) 353-1880, menu option 0. TECHNICAL NOTE Background of the program The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. in each calendar year. The program uses diverse State and Federal data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. Information about each workplace fatality (industry, 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, news accounts, 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. Fatalities to volunteer and unpaid family workers who perform the same duties and functions as paid workers are also included in the counts. 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 normal commute to or from work are excluded from the census counts.) Data presented in this release include deaths occurring in 2006 that resulted from traumatic occupational injuries. An injury is defined as any wound or damage to the body resulting from acute exposure to energy, such as heat, electricity, or impact from a crash or fall, or from the absence of such essentials as heat or oxygen caused by a specific event or incident 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 was 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 18 percent of the fatalities; laborers on small farms, accounting for about 1 percent of the fatalities; 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 Nebraska Compensation Court 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.
Last Modified Date: October 31, 2007
