Internet: www.bls.gov/ro5/  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
GENERAL INFORMATION: (312) 353-1880 Monday, November 24, 2008
MEDIA CONTACT: Paul LaPorte 
(312) 353-1138  

 

Workplace Fatalities in Michigan for 2007

Fatal work injuries in Michigan totaled 120 in 2007, a decrease of 37 from the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Please note that the 2007 results are preliminary; final results will be released in April 2009.   Regional Commissioner Jay A. Mousa noted that the 2007 total was the second lowest workplace fatality count for the State since 1992, the first year data were available.  The series low of 110 work place fatalities was recorded in 2005. The decline in fatalities from 2006 to 2007 was spread across several event categories, including falls to a lower level, being struck by an object, and highway crashes.  Workplace homicides, on-the-other-hand, increased in 2007.


The most frequent types of workplace fatalities in Michigan in 2007 were highway crashes, homicides, falls to a lower level, and being struck by an object, each with at least 14 fatalities.  Taken together, these four events 1/ accounted for 60 percent of the workplace fatalities in the State.  (See table A.)

 
The number of fatalities from highway crashes (officially titled highway incidents and includes non-collision incidents) in the State totaled 24, down from the 31 recorded in 2006.  Highway crashes accounted for 20 percent of Michigan’s fatal work injuries in 2007.  Nationally, highway crashes were also the most frequent event leading to workplace fatalities, accounting for nearly one quarter of workplace fatalities in 2007.

  
There were 20 work-related homicides in 2007 in Michigan, an increase of 9 from a year earlier.  Since the inception of the fatality census in 1992, workplace homicides reached their highest level in 1994 in the State when 39 workers were killed while on-the-job.  The series low for this event, 11, was recorded in 2006.  (See table A.)  In 2007, homicides accounted for 17 percent of the fatally injured in Michigan and 11 percent nationwide.


There were 14 fatal work injuries from falls to a lower level in the State in 2007, a decrease of 7 from the previous year. Work-related deaths involving falls to a lower level accounted for 12 percent of workplace fatalities in Michigan and 13 percent nationwide in 2007.

 
Fourteen workers in Michigan were fatally injured from being struck by an object in 2007, down 5 cases over the year.  This fatal work-related injury accounted for 12 percent of the State’s and 9 percent of the nation’s occupational fatalities in 2007.


Other frequent events leading to workplace fatalities in Michigan in 2007 were being caught in or compressed by equipment or objects (10), exposure to caustic, noxious, or allergenic substances (6), pedestrian being struck by a vehicle (6), and self-inflicted injuries (6).  Together, these four events were responsible for nearly one-quarter of all fatal work injuries in Michigan in 2007.   

Table A. Fatal occupational injuries in Michigan by selected event groups, 1992-2007
Year Total fatalities Highway crashes Homicides Falls to lower level Struck by object
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

1992

 143 20 14 26 18 14 10 9 6

1993

 160 33 21 25 16 8 5 18 11

1994

 180 34 19 39 22 10 6 24 13

1995

 149 39 26 23 15 12 8 16 11

1996

 155 39 25 29 19 20 13 14 9

1997

 174 21 12 26 15 21 12 13 7

1998

 179 30 17 22 12 16 9 14 8

1999

 182 37 20 20 11 22 12 11 6

2000

 156 24 15 13 8 17 11 25 16

2001

 175 28 16 24 14 21 12 15 9

2002

 152 26 17 22 14 18 12 17 11

2003

 152 27 18 14 9 13 9 19 13

2004

 127 19 15 22 17 12 9 10 8

2005

 110 20 18 14 13 17 15 13 12

2006

 157 31 20 11 7 21 13 19 12

2007

 120 24 20 20 17 14 12 14 12

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 fatal work injuries 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 Michigan in 2007:

(Detailed data tables are available at www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/tgs/2007/iiffi26.htm.)

-- Men accounted for 86 percent of the work-related fatalities in the State with 103 deaths.  Transportation incidents, which include highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail, were the most prevalent cause, accounting for 28 deaths.  The second most frequent fatal event was contact with objects and equipment (26) followed by assaults and violent acts (23).  Seventeen women were fatally injured on the job; seven from transportation incidents and four each from assaults and violent acts and falls.


-- Eighty-one percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white, non-Hispanics (97), 12 percent were black, non-Hispanics (14), and 6 percent were Hispanic or Latino (7).


-- Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 63 percent, or 76, of the State’s work-related fatalities in 2007; at the national level, 63 percent of worker deaths also belonged to this group.

 
-- Seventy-six percent of workers killed on-the-job in Michigan worked for wages and salaries; the rest were self-employed.


-- Three industry sectors made up 39 percent of the workplace fatalities in the State—the construction and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries recorded 16 deaths each and manufacturing, 15.  In construction, falls (5) were the leading cause of worker deaths.  Contact with objects and equipment accounted for the majority of workplace fatalities in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting and manufacturing, with eight and seven deaths, respectively.  Other industry sectors recording more than five work-related deaths included transportation and warehousing (11), retail trade (9), administrative and support and waste management and remediation services (9), accommodation and food services (7), and other services, except public administration (7).


-- Transportation and material moving, management, and construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of worker fatalities with 26, 21, and 15, respectively.  Combined, these three groups accounted for over half of all fatal work injuries in Michigan.  Within the transportation and material moving occupational group, transportation incidents (15) accounted for more than half of the fatal injuries.  In management occupations, assaults and violent acts (6) and contact with objects and equipment (6) were the leading causes of worker deaths.  Among construction and extraction workers, falls (5) were the most frequent fatal injury event. 


Table B. Fatal occupational injuries in the United States by selected event groups, 1992-2007
Year Total fatalities Highway crashes Falls to lower level Homicides Struck by object
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

1992

 6,217 1,158 19 507 8 1,044 17 557 9

1993

 6,331 1,242 20 534 8 1,074 17 565 9

1994

 6,632 1,343 20 580 9 1,080 16 591 9

1995

 6,275 1,346 21 578 9 1,036 17 547 9

1996

 6,202 1,346 22 610 10 927 15 582 9

1997

 6,238 1,393 22 653 10 860 14 579 9

1998

 6,055 1,442 24 625 10 714 12 520 9

1999

 6,054 1,496 25 634 10 651 11 585 10

2000

 5,920 1,365 23 659 11 677 11 571 10

2001(1)

 5,915 1,409 24 700 12 643 11 553 9

2002

 5,534 1,373 25 638 12 609 11 505 9

2003

 5,575 1,353 24 604 11 632 11 531 10

2004

 5,764 1,398 24 738 13 559 10 602 10

2005

 5,734 1,437 25 664 12 567 10 607 11

2006(2)

 5,840 1,356 23 738 13 540 9 589 10

2007

 5,488 1,311 24 733 13 610 11 504 9

NOTE: 2007 data are preliminary.
(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 9, 2007, reported a total of 5,703 fatal work injuries for calendar year 2006. Since then, an additional 137 job-related fatalities were identified, bringing the total job-related fatality count for 2006 to 5,840.

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 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.  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


The Bureau of Labor Statistics 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 Michigan can be obtained from tables at www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/tgs/2007/iiffi26.htm.

 



 

Last Modified Date: November 24, 2008