Fatal Work Injuries in New England – 2010 (pdf)

A total of 146 fatal work injuries were reported in New England in 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Denis M. McSweeney noted that, while the 2010 count is preliminary, it was the 4th-lowest count since the series began in 1992. One year ago, the series low of 139 on-the-job fatalities was recorded. (See chart 1.) Overall, fatal occupational injuries in New England accounted for about 3 percent of the nation’s 4,547 work-related fatalities. (Note that final results for 2010 will be released in Spring 2012.)

Among the six New England states, on-the-job fatalities were highest in Massachusetts (51) and Connecticut (49), the two states with the largest workforces. Together, Massachusetts and Connecticut accounted for nearly 70 percent of the fatal occupational injuries occurring in New England. (See table A.) Maine (19 fatalities) and Vermont (13) represented 13 and 9 percent of the New England fatality count, respectively. Rhode Island ended the year with nine work-related fatalities and New Hampshire, five.

In 2010, four New England states recorded increases in their on-the-job fatality counts, while two reported decreases. Connecticut recorded the largest increase with 15 fatalities. The on-the-job fatality count fell by 13 in Massachusetts. (See table A.)

Nationally, workplace fatalities were about the same as the revised total of 4,551 fatalities reported for 2009. While 2010 results are considered preliminary, the 4,547 total represents the smallest annual count for the U.S. recorded by the fatality census since its inception in 1992.

Table A. Fatal occupational injuries for the United States, New England, and the New England states, 1992-2010

State and area	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
United States	6,217	6,331	6,632	6,275	6,202	6,238	6,055	6,054	5,920	5,915	5,534	5,575	5,764	5,734	5,840	5,657	5,214	4,551	4,547
New England	166	172	165	155	144	163	178	192	186	150	153	188	171	167	161	163	143	139	146
Connecticut	42	31	35	32	35	32	57	38	55	41	39	36	54	46	38	38	28	34	49
Maine	19	20	22	18	23	19	26	32	26	23	30	23	16	15	20	21	24	16	19
Massachusetts	67	85	74	66	62	69	44	83	70	54	46	78	72	75	66	75	68	64	51
New Hampshire	10	13	14	12	11	23	23	14	13	9	19	19	15	18	13	14	7	6	5
Rhode Island	17	16	12	11	6	11	12	11	7	17	8	18	7	6	10	5	6	7	9
Vermont	11	7	8	16	7	9	16	14	15	6	11	14	7	7	14	10	10	12	13

Characteristics of fatal work injuries in the New England states

Connecticut. In Connecticut, the fatality count of 49 was the highest total in the state since 2004. In 2010, the most frequent fatal workplace events were assaults and violent acts (17), transportation incidents (11), and fires and explosions (8).

Workplace fatalities were most common in the trade, transportation, and utilities (15) and construction (12) industries. Among occupational groups, transportation and material moving (14) and construction and extraction (10) occupations accounted for nearly half of the state’s fatality count.

More than half (25) of all worker deaths were individuals 35-54 years old. Black, non-Hispanics, Asians, and Hispanics or Latinos combined for 11 workplace fatalities in Connecticut, the largest total for these groups in any New England State.

Maine. Maine had 19 on-the-job deaths in 2010. Nearly two-thirds (12) of the fatalities were the result of transportation incidents of which nine were highway accidents.

Both the natural resources and mining and trade, transportation, and utilities industries accounted for four fatalities each in Maine. Among occupational groups, the transportation and material moving group accounted for eight fatalities and farming, fishing, and forestry had four fatalities.

Nearly all of the fatally injured workers in Maine were white, non-Hispanics (18). Among the age groups, almost half (9) of the state’s fatalities were from workers 55 and over.

Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, the fatality count of 51 in 2010 was the lowest total in the commonwealth since 2002. The most frequent fatal event was falls (15), followed by transportation incidents (14) and assaults and violent acts (12). These three events accounted for 80 percent of Massachusetts’s workplace deaths.

The greatest number of fatal workplace incidents occurred in the construction industry (13); government followed with 10 fatalities. Construction and extraction occupations had the highest number of on-the-job fatalities (14), followed by transportation and material moving occupations (8).

Eighty percent of the fatally injured workers in the commonwealth were white, non-Hispanics while 14 percent were Hispanic or Latino, the highest reported share for that group in any New England state. By age group, 45-54-year-olds had 13 fatalities and 55-64-year-olds had 12 fatalities, accounting for 25 and 24 percent of the state’s total, respectively.

New Hampshire. In 2010, New Hampshire had five workplace fatalities, one less than a year earlier and the lowest number since the series’ inception in 1992. All of the fatally injured in the state were males.

Rhode Island. Rhode Island recorded nine workplace deaths in 2010, an increase of two from the previous year. Assaults and violent acts led to four workplace fatalities in the state. All recorded fatalities were males.

Vermont. In 2010, Vermont had 13 workplace fatalities, one more than the previous year. Transportation incidents accounted for seven on-the-job fatalities in the state. Four fatalities in Vermont occurred in natural resources and mining. All of the fatally injured workers in Vermont were white, non-Hispanic males and eight of them were age 55 or older.

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 the 2010 data, over 18,000 unique source documents nationally were reviewed as part of the data collection process.

Identification and verification of work-related fatalities

In 2010, there were 20 cases included nationally for which work relationship could not be independently verified; however, the information on the initiating source document for these cases was sufficient to determine that the incident was likely to be job-related. Data for these fatalities are included in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries counts. An additional 66 fatalities submitted by all states nationally were not included because the source documents had insufficient information to determine work relationship and could not be verified by either an independent source document or a follow-up questionnaire.

States may identify additional fatal work injuries after data collection closeout for a reference year. In addition, other fatalities excluded from the published count because of insufficient information to determine work relationship may subsequently be verified as work related. States have up to 7 months from this release to update their initial published state counts. This procedure ensures that fatality data are disseminated as quickly as possible and that legitimate cases are not excluded from the final counts. Thus, each year's initial release of data should be considered preliminary. Final data are released in the Spring of the following year; revised counts for 2010 will be available in 2012.

Over the last 3 years, increases in the published counts based on additional information have averaged 174 fatalities nationally per year or about 3 percent of the revised total. The BLS news release issued August 19, 2010 reported a national total of 4,340 fatal work injuries for 2009. With the May 2011 release of final data, an additional 211 net fatal work injuries were added, bringing the total for 2009 to 4,551.

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.

Acknowledgements

BLS thanks the participating states 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.

This information will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (617) 565-2072, Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339.

CFOI participating agencies and telephone numbers

State	Agency	Telephone number
Connecticut	Labor Deparment	(860) 263-6933
Maine	Bureau of Labor Standards	(207) 623-7904
Massachusetts	Department of Public Health	(617) 624-5679
New Hampshire	Division of Vital Records Administration	(603) 271-4647
Rhode Island	Department of Health	(401) 222-2812
Vermont	Department of Labor	(802) 828-5985

Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by detailed event or exposure in the United States and the New England States, 2010

Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries by selected industries in the United States and the New England States, 2010

Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries by selected occupational group and demographic characteristics in the United States and the New England States, 2010

Last Modified Date: December 16, 2011