News Release Information
PLS-4827
Friday, October 14, 2011
Contacts
Technical information:
- (215) 597-3282
- BLSInfoPhiladelphia@bls.gov
- www.bls.gov/ro3
Media contact:
- (215) 861-5600
- BLSMediaPhiladelphia@bls.gov
Workplace Fatalities in Maryland – 2010
Fatal work injuries totaled 69 in 2010 for Maryland, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the 2010 count is preliminary, the number of work-related fatalities in Maryland increased by four from one year earlier. Still, the 2010 total was the 4th lowest in the 19-year history of the series. Fatal occupational injuries in the state have ranged from a high of 106 in 2006 to a low of 60 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 fatal work injuries 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 and homicides were tied as the most frequent type of workplace fatality in Maryland in 2010, each accounting for 11 deaths. (See table 2.) The highway incident figure is the fourth lowest, and the homicide count the third lowest, since 1992 when the fatality data were first reported. Workers being struck by vehicles resulted in 10 fatalities in 2010, up from 6 in 2009. Work-related fatalities resulting from falls to a lower level decreased from 10 to 9 over the year.
Maryland’s shares of on-the-job fatalities due to highway incidents and homicides were both 16 percent in 2010. In the United States, highway incidents were the most frequent fatal workplace event, accounting for 21 percent of fatal work injuries, while homicides accounted for 11 percent of workplace deaths. Workers being struck by vehicles resulted in 14 percent of Maryland’s occupational fatalities; this event accounted for 6 percent of worker deaths nationally. Falls to a lower level accounted for 13 percent of work-related fatalities in Maryland, while the United States as a whole had an 11-percent share in this category.
Additional key characteristics:
- Men accounted for 99 percent of the work-related fatalities in the state. Transportation incidents, which include highway, nonhighway, pedestrian, air, water, and rail, accounted for nearly one-third of the fatalities among men, followed by assaults and violent acts with just below one-fourth. (See table 3.)
- In Maryland, 61 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 65 percent, of the state’s work-related fatalities 2010. Nationally, workers in this group accounted for 60 percent of on-the-job fatalities.
- Of the 69 occupational fatalities in Maryland, 78 percent worked for wages and salaries; the remaining workers were self-employed. The leading cause of death for wage and salary workers was transportation incidents, while falls was the leading cause for the self-employed.
- The construction sector had the largest number of fatalities, 18, followed by government with 10 and transportation and warehousing with 9. Contact with objects and equipment was the most frequent fatal event with six fatalities in the construction industry, while transportation incidents accounted for six fatal injuries in government and five in transportation and warehousing.
- Transportation and material moving occupations had the highest number of workplace fatalities with 16, half of which were heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. Workers in the construction and extraction occupations had the second-highest fatality count at 14, followed by those in installation, maintenance and repair jobs at 10.
- Among Maryland’s metropolitan areas, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. registered the highest number of work-related fatalities at 64, followed by Baltimore-Towson, Md. at 40. (See chart 2.)
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 Mid-Atlantic Information Office at 215-597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 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/ro3.
Technical Note
Background of the program. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), part of the BLS Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program, compiles a count of all fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. during the calendar year. The CFOI 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 and definitions for the CFOI program, please go to the BLS Handbook of Methods on the BLS web site here: www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch9_a1.htm.
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.
Acknowledgments. BLS thanks the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation for their 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 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 Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (Federal Employees' Compensation and Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation divisions); the Federal Railroad Administration; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; 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.
Year | Total fatalities | Highway incidents | Homicides | Pedestrian incidents | Falls to a lower level | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | ||
1992 |
103 | 19 | 18 | 24 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 12 |
1993 |
82 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 9 |
1994 |
80 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 21 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 14 |
1995 |
86 | 18 | 21 | 28 | 33 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
1996 |
82 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
1997 |
82 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
1998 |
78 | 19 | 24 | 15 | 19 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 9 |
1999 |
82 | 20 | 24 | 20 | 24 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
2000 |
84 | 19 | 23 | 14 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 21 |
2001 |
64 | 14 | 22 | 15 | 23 | -- | -- | 6 | 9 |
2002 |
102 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 12 |
2003 |
92 | 23 | 25 | 13 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 15 |
2004 |
81 | 22 | 27 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 9 |
2005 |
95 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 17 |
2006 |
106 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 18 |
2007 |
82 | 15 | 18 | 17 | 21 | 15 | 18 | 12 | 15 |
2008 |
60 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 15 |
2009 |
65 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 22 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 15 |
2010 |
69 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 13 |
NOTE: Data for 2010 are preliminary. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. |
Event or exposure(1) | 2009 | 2010 | |
---|---|---|---|
Number | Percent | ||
Total |
65 | 69 | 100 |
Transportation incidents |
23 | 22 | 32 |
Highway |
9 | 11 | 16 |
Collision between vehicles, mobile equipment |
3 | 4 | 6 |
Vehicle struck object on side of road |
5 | 7 | 10 |
Nonhighway (farm, industrial premises) |
3 | -- | -- |
Worker struck by a vehicle |
6 | 10 | 14 |
Assaults and violent acts |
17 | 17 | 25 |
Homicides |
14 | 11 | 16 |
Shooting |
11 | 9 | 13 |
Self-inflicted injuries |
3 | 6 | 9 |
Contact with objects and equipment |
9 | 12 | 17 |
Struck by object or equipment |
4 | 8 | 12 |
Struck by falling object or equipment |
-- | 7 | 10 |
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects |
4 | 3 | 4 |
Falls |
10 | 12 | 17 |
Fall to lower level |
10 | 9 | 13 |
Fall from roof |
3 | 4 | 6 |
Exposure to harmful substances or environments |
4 | 3 | 4 |
Contact with electric current |
3 | -- | -- |
Footnotes: |
|||
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do meet publication criteria. Data for 2010 are preliminary. |
Worker characteristics | 2009 | 2010 | |
---|---|---|---|
Number | Percent | ||
Total |
65 | 69 | 100 |
Employee Status | |||
Wage and salary workers(1) |
49 | 54 | 78 |
Self-employed(2) |
16 | 15 | 22 |
Gender | |||
Men |
63 | 68 | 99 |
Women |
-- | -- | -- |
Age(3) | |||
20 to 24 years |
4 | 6 | 9 |
25 to 34 years |
7 | 13 | 19 |
35 to 44 years |
16 | 12 | 17 |
45 to 54 years |
20 | 20 | 29 |
55 to 64 years |
16 | 12 | 17 |
65 years and over |
-- | 5 | 7 |
Race or Ethnic Origin(4) | |||
White, non-Hispanic |
46 | 42 | 61 |
Black, non-Hispanic |
13 | 13 | 19 |
Hispanic or Latino |
3 | 12 | 17 |
Asian |
3 | -- | -- |
Footnotes: |
|||
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown separately. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do meet publication criteria. Data for 2010 are preliminary. |
Last Modified Date: October 17, 2011