Internet: www.bls.gov/ro5/ | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: |
GENERAL INFORMATION: (312) 353-1880 | Tuesday, December 2, 2008 |
MEDIA CONTACT: Paul LaPorte | |
(312) 353-1138 |
Workplace Fatalities in Wisconsin for 2007
Fatal work injuries in Wisconsin totaled 103 for 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Jay A. Mousa noted that the 2007 fatality count increased by 12 from last year. Please note that the 2007 results are preliminary; final results will be released in April 2009. The most frequent types of fatal workplace events in the State were highway crashes (29), workers being struck by objects (12), and falls to a lower level (11). Taken together, these three events 1/ accounted for just over one-half of the work-related fatalities in Wisconsin in 2007.
The most frequent on-the-job fatality in the State was from highway crashes (officially titled highway incidents and includes non-collision incidents) in 2007, with 29 deaths comprising 28 percent of total fatalities in Wisconsin. The previous year, 17 crashes accounted for 19 percent of the State’s fatality count. (See table A.) Nationally, 24 percent of workplace deaths resulted from highway crashes, making it the most frequent fatal event.
Workers being struck by objects resulted in 12 on-the-job fatalities in Wisconsin in 2007, 6 fewer than this group’s high recorded the previous year. Object strikes accounted for 12 percent of workplace fatalities in Wisconsin in 2007 and 20 percent a year ago. Nationally, being struck by objects accounted for 9 percent of workplace fatalities in 2007.
Eleven fatal injuries by falling to a lower level occurred in the State in 2007, decreasing by 2 cases over the year. Falls to a lower level represented 11 percent of workplace fatalities in Wisconsin and 13 percent of work related fatalities nationally.
Other work-related fatal injuries in Wisconsin included homicides (9); nonhighway transportation incidents (excluding rail, air, and water) (7); workers caught in or compressed by equipment or objects (6); exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances (6); and aircraft incidents (6).
Year | Total fatalities | Highway crashes | Struck by object | Falls to lower level | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | ||||
1992 |
135 | 21 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 5 | ||
1993 |
138 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 8 | 6 | ||
1994 |
109 | 26 | 13 | 14 | 24 | 10 | 9 | ||
1995 |
117 | 29 | 5 | 6 | 25 | 5 | 4 | ||
1996 |
108 | 27 | 6 | 7 | 25 | 14 | 13 | ||
1997 |
114 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 14 | 12 | ||
1998 |
97 | 29 | 6 | 6 | 30 | 6 | 6 | ||
1999 |
105 | 34 | 12 | 13 | 32 | 8 | 8 | ||
2000 |
107 | 27 | 7 | 8 | 25 | 7 | 7 | ||
2001 |
110 | 35 | 8 | 9 | 32 | 12 | 11 | ||
2002 |
91 | 24 | 8 | 7 | 26 | 7 | 8 | ||
2003 |
103 | 22 | 17 | 17 | 21 | 16 | 16 | ||
2004 |
94 | 20 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 10 | 11 | ||
2005 |
125 | 33 | 13 | 16 | 26 | 20 | 16 | ||
2006 |
91 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 13 | 14 | ||
2007 |
103 | 29 | 28 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | ||
NOTE: Totals for 2007 are preliminary. |
Nationwide, a total of 5,488 fatal work injuries were reported in 2007, a decrease of 6 percent from the revised total of 5,840 reported in 2006. While these results are preliminary, this figure represents the lowest annual total since the series began in 1992. (See table B.) Highway crashes in 2007 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. Still, the 2007 count of 1,311 fatal highway crashes was the lowest annual total since 1993. The 2007 total of 733 fatal falls to a lower level was the third highest since the fatality census began, but was slightly lower than the 738 recorded in 2006. The number of workers (504) who were fatally injured from being struck by objects or equipment in 2007 was at the lowest level since the fatality census began and represented a 14-percent decline from the 2006 total. Two other events were also at series lows in 2007—fatal work injuries involving electrocutions (212) and fatalities resulting from fires and explosions (151).
Workplace homicides increased by 13 percent to 610 in 2007 from the series low of 540 that was reported in 2006. Even after the increase, workplace homicides have declined 44 percent from the high of 1,080 reported in 1994.
Key characteristics of workplace fatalities in Wisconsin in 2007:
(Detailed data tables are available at www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/tgs/2007/iiffi55.htm.)
-- Men accounted for 90 percent of the work-related fatalities (93) in the State. Transportation incidents (which includes highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail) accounted for about two-fifths of these fatal injuries, while contact with objects and equipment accounted for another one-fifth. Among women, 5 of the 10 deaths resulted from transportation incidents.
-- In Wisconsin, 89 percent of work related fatalities were among white, non-Hispanics.
-- Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for nearly 50 percent of the State’s work-related fatalities in 2007; 43 percent were 55 years or older. Nationally, workers 55 and over made up 27 percent of those fatally injured on the job.
-- Wage and salary workers represented 66 percent of Wisconsin’s workplace fatalities in 2007; the rest were self-employed.
-- The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry sector had the largest number of fatalities (20), followed by construction (19) and manufacturing (13). Transportation incidents (8) were the most frequent fatal event in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting. In the construction sector, transportation incidents and exposure to harmful substances and environments (6 each) were the most common fatal work injuries. Contact with objects and equipment accounted for 6 of the 13 fatal events in the manufacturing sector.
-- Workers in the transportation and material moving occupational group suffered 23 work-related fatalities, the highest in the State in 2007. This was followed closely by the management occupational group (21), 14 of which were managers of farms and ranches. Construction and extraction occupations had 12 fatalities, 4 of which were transportation incidents.
Year | Total fatalities | Highway crashes | Falls to lower level | Struck by object | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | ||
1992 |
6,217 | 1,158 | 19 | 507 | 8 | 557 | 9 |
1993 |
6,331 | 1,242 | 20 | 534 | 8 | 565 | 9 |
1994 |
6,632 | 1,343 | 20 | 580 | 9 | 591 | 9 |
1995 |
6,275 | 1,346 | 21 | 578 | 9 | 547 | 9 |
1996 |
6,202 | 1,346 | 22 | 610 | 10 | 582 | 9 |
1997 |
6,238 | 1,393 | 22 | 653 | 10 | 579 | 9 |
1998 |
6,055 | 1,442 | 24 | 625 | 10 | 520 | 9 |
1999 |
6,054 | 1,496 | 25 | 634 | 10 | 585 | 10 |
2000 |
5,920 | 1,365 | 23 | 659 | 11 | 571 | 10 |
2001(1) |
5,915 | 1,409 | 24 | 700 | 12 | 553 | 9 |
2002 |
5,534 | 1,373 | 25 | 638 | 12 | 505 | 9 |
2003 |
5,575 | 1,353 | 24 | 604 | 11 | 531 | 10 |
2004 |
5,764 | 1,398 | 24 | 738 | 13 | 602 | 10 |
2005 |
5,734 | 1,437 | 25 | 664 | 12 | 607 | 11 |
2006(2) |
5,840 | 1,356 | 23 | 738 | 13 | 589 | 10 |
2007 |
5,488 | 1,311 | 24 | 733 | 13 | 504 | 9 |
NOTE: 2007 data are preliminary |
Additional Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are available on the BLS Internet site at www.bls.gov/iif/. For personal assistance or further information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the Midwest Information Office at (312) 353-1880, menu option 0, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT. Information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and other programs and surveys are available on our Web site at www.bls.gov/ro5/.
1/ Fatal events are categorized into several major groupings including transportation incidents, assaults and violent acts, and falls, among others. These major groups are further broken down into more detailed groups. See the Occupational Injury & Illness Classification System (OIICS) Manual at www.bls.gov/iif/oshoiics.htm for detailed information on the categories of fatalities used in this census.
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, federal, and independent data sources to identify, verify, and describe fatal work injuries. This assures counts are as complete and accurate as possible.
For technical information about the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS Web site. To get to that document, click on Workplace Injuries on the BLS home page, scroll down to IIF Documentation, and then click on “BLS Handbook of Methods.” The technical information and definitions for the CFOI Program are in Chapter 9, Part 2 of the BLS Handbook of Methods.
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.
Acknowledgments
BLS thanks the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene for its efforts in collecting accurate, comprehensive, and useful data on fatal work injuries. BLS appreciates the efforts of all federal, State, local, and private sector entities 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 Federal Railroad Administration; 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.
Detailed statistics on fatal occupational injuries in Wisconsin can be obtained at www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/tgs/2007/iiffi55.htm.
Last Modified Date: December 2, 2008