Fatal work injuries totaled 91 in 2010 for Wisconsin, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that while the 2010 count was preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in Wisconsin was down from the 94 recorded one year earlier. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 138 in 1993 to a low of 77 in 2008. (See table 1 and chart 1.)

Nationwide, a preliminary total of 4,547 fatal work injuries were recorded in 2010, about the same as the final count of 4,551 fatalities recorded in 2009, according to results from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program. Final 2010 CFOI data will be released in spring 2012.

Highway incidents were the most frequent type of workplace fatality in Wisconsin in 2010, accounting for 14 deaths. (See table 2.) The 2010 total was the lowest number of highway-related fatalities in the state since the series began in 1992. Twelve fatalities due to workers caught in or compressed by equipment or objects occurred in 2010, an increase from 7 incidents recorded the previous year. Nine fatalities resulted from workers struck by objects or equipment, down from 12 incidents a year earlier. Fatalities resulting from falls to a lower level declined to 8 in 2010 from 11 incidents in 2009.

Nationwide, highway incidents were also the most frequent fatal workplace event, accounting for 21 percent of fatal work injuries. Wisconsin’s share of highway-related fatalities was 15 percent. Across the United States, falls to a lower level and homicides were the next most frequent type of event, each with 11 percent of work-related fatalities. Falls to a lower level in Wisconsin accounted for 9 percent of occupational fatalities and the state had no disclosable work-related homicides in 2010.

Additional key characteristics:

• Men accounted for 84, or 92 percent, of the work-related fatalities in the state. Contact with objects or equipment was the most frequent cause of death, accounting for 31 percent of work-fatalities among men in Wisconsin. (See table 3.)
• In Wisconsin, 90 percent of those who died from a workplace injury were white non-Hispanics. Nationwide, this group accounted for 72 percent of work-related deaths.
• Workers 25-54 years old—the prime working age group—accounted for 45, or 49 percent, of the state’s work-related fatalities in 2010. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 60 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
• Of the 91 occupational fatalities in Wisconsin, 63 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remaining were self-employed. The leading cause of death for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents while the leading cause for self-employed workers was contact with objects and equipment.
• The agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector had the largest number of fatalities, 32, followed by manufacturing with 11. Transportation incidents and contact with objects and equipment each accounted for 11 deaths in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting.
• Management occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 30, the majority of which were farm or ranch operators (26). Workers in transportation and material moving occupations had the second highest fatality count at 15, followed by construction and extraction with 12.

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data are available on the BLS Internet site at www.bls.gov/iif/. Further information on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries program, as well as other Bureau programs, is available on the Midwest Information Office web site at www.bls.gov/ro5/ or by contacting us at 312-353-1880 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT.

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. during the 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 at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch9_a1.htm. The technical information and definitions for the CFOI Program are in Chapter 9, Part III 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.